Haunted
by Ra'Zara The First
Summary: (Story three in the "Hybrid" series.) How do you spell dysfunctional family? D-A-V-E-N-P-O-R-T. As we get used to living together after our rendezvous in Italy, chaos naturally ensues. On top of all that, we still have the threat of Krane haunting our every step... (Rated T for cussing and demonic themes. Very AU and OOC. Whole family involved.)
1. Chapter 1 - Our New Normal

**Welcome to _Haunted_, yet another installment in the _Hybrid_ series!**

**For the record, we did _not _enjoy having to rebuild after the Fangirl War of 2014. Just sayin'.**

**For you newbies, here's the deal: This is AU. This is OOC. This has cussing and demons and the occasional lewd remark. If you didn't read _Hybrid_ or its sequel _Hunter_, don't expect to know what's going on. Also, don't expect me to explain it, either. You were warned.**

**Anyways, let's get started with _Haunted!_ Ysthry?**

**"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."**

* * *

_"Remember: As far as everyone knows, we are a nice, normal family."_

**Unknown**

* * *

"_Insanity does not run in my family. Rather, it strolls through, taking its time and getting to know everyone personally."_

**Unknown**

* * *

**Ra'Zara the First proudly presents _Haunted_.**

**Chapter One - Our New Normal**

_**Bree**_

Downstairs, a loud scream of surprise sounded.

Bree was in the living room in seconds, ready for anything. Who _knew _what Krane was planning next? However, she was greeted by a less-than-threatening scene.

Tasha was swatting at a random imp - it reminded Bree of a fox, if one looked past the purple fur and six eyes - with a newspaper. The imp was dodging around, the source of the problem held in its mouth: A dead pigeon, dripping blood everywhere the demon went.

"I got it!"

Chase's voice was followed by a roar. A lynx barreled into the fox with reckless abandon, pinning it to the floor, where it struggled pitifully. Bree ran through the planes - the charmed bead she wore around her wrist warming and vibrating slightly - and grinned when she saw the lynx become Chase by plane four.

"Don't eat me!" the imp pleaded around the dead bird between his teeth.

"Who summoned *this* one?" Tasha demanded, her eyebrow raised threateningly at Douglas, who had watched the whole thing from behind a laptop in the kitchen with a shit-eating grin.

Douglas threw his hands up innocently. "He's not mine."

With a frustrated sigh, Tasha pinched the bridge of her nose. "Where are Leo and Adam?" She and Mr. Davenport figured out that Leo and Adam were not going to stop summoning no matter what. So - a week after Douglas and Chase moved in and several imps kept creating mischief - they decided that summoning was no longer banned. They had an experienced Summoner living with them now, anyways, so it wasn't as much of a safety issue. Douglas was more than happy to teach Adam - when Adam paid attention - which meant that Leo learned, too, since he tended to accompany Adam when they asked questions.

Bree shrugged. She hadn't seen her brothers since breakfast that morning.

Chase growled. "Hold _still!"_

The imp he was sitting on went still instantly.

"They were in the Lab earlier," Douglas offered.

Tasha nodded curtly and started towards the elevator. "Can someone get rid of that bird? _Now_."

The imp bit down on the pigeon possessively. Bree wrinkled her nose in disgust at the slight crunching sound it made. It bothered her how imps randomly killed birds and rodents, but either hid them in interesting places or buried them. According to Chase, demons had no problem eating people. Why didn't they eat their smaller victims?

Well, some did, so she wasn't being totally fair. Most, though, enjoyed leaving small corpses in random shoes or beds.

A gray gargoyle with rhinestone-studded wings dropped from the ceiling to the floor, landing gently on her feet in front of the fox. She pried the bird out of his mouth and loudly declared, "Master, I got you a present!"

"Bury it outside, Oly," Douglas responded, rolling his eyes.

Oly winced and muttered something, but leapt out the opened window anyways.

Near the kitchen, the elevator rang. Tasha strode out, followed by the fearful Adam and Leo, both with an imp on their shoulders. How Leo kept the acid-dripping dragon-imp called Ysthry around, she would never understand. Yahn - perched on Adam's shoulders - tilted his head at the scene. "I warned you that Daxal was prone to mischief," he said, pointing at the fox.

Chase jumped off of Daxal as Tasha picked the imp up by the scruff. "Get _rid _of him."

Adam took Daxal gently from Tasha and cradled the little imp, who snuggled against him. "But he's so _soft_."

Tasha glared at Adam. "And he got blood all over the floor. You are cleaning it up, by the way. Daxal goes. We already have a destructive imp: Oly. We don't need more."

"All right," Adam conceded. He turned on his heel and boarded the elevator again, hitting the down button so that the door closed.

Ysthry hissed. "That Summoner has his own master."

"Mothers are everybody's master," Leo answered, rubbing the top of Ysthry's head. She shifted from one foot to the other repeatedly with contentment.

"Can we leave the bloodstains, actually?" Chase asked. "They smell nice."

"Crimson ties this room together," Douglas added, giving Tasha a cheeky grin.

Leo rolled his eyes. "Won't it start to stink eventually?"

"The stains aren't staying," Tasha said firmly. "That's final." She gave Douglas one final glare before she ascended the stairs to find her husband.

Lynx-Chase sighed and vanished into a cloud of oily blackness before turning into his normal self: Essentially human, if one ignored his fangs, slit pupils, raven wings, tail and cat ears where his used to be. It had taken some getting used to initially, but the idea that Chase was half demon was nothing more than a casual fact now.

It was sunny outside, the sky was blue, and Chase was half-demonic.

"You could always just go kill something," Douglas said, nodding at Chase before he returned his attention to the computer.

Chase glanced at the window before shrugging. "Too much effort."

Bree wrinkled her nose again. "Why would you even _want_ to kill something?"

Chase frowned at me. "Hello: _Mother Nature._ Demons kill stuff."

"Getting _primal _up in here," Douglas commented as he wrote something down.

Bree rolled her eyes as Oly flew back through the window. "Got it buried."

"Where?" Douglas asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

"In Tasha's flower garden," Oly answered, snickering.

"_Awesome_," Douglas responded.

"Dude, not cool," Leo huffed. "That's my mother, asshole." He then glared at Ysthry, who was laughing. "Shut up." Ysthry winced and fell silent.

"Think of it as a fertilizer," Oly reasoned.

"We're just doing her a favor," Douglas defended. His words turned melodramatic as he continued. "That you're implying that we have _any_ kind of vendetta against your mother is _highly_ offensive."

Bree frowned. "You _do_. What was it you told me a few days ago?" She used her vocal manipulation to sound exactly like Douglas. "'That she-beast is getting on my last nerve with all of her rules. I have half a mind to -'"

"Keep your voice down!" Douglas hissed, looking at the top of the stairs with a fearful expression. "You're going to get me killed."

"If it helps, she doesn't like you, either," Chase said, grinning innocently as Oly climbed onto his shoulders.

Douglas rolled his eyes. "Really? I couldn't tell."

The elevator rang again, signaling the return of Adam and Yahn. "Couldn't tell what?" Adam asked.

"Nothing important," Leo answered.

Adam shrugged. "All right. Does anyone know how to get blood out of carpet?"

"Rub mud in it and let it sit for about an hour," Ysthry suggested.

"Got it," Adam agreed eagerly. He started for the door.

Bree caught him by the arm with a sigh. "Ysthry's trying to get you in trouble," she explained, glaring at the dragon on Leo's shoulders. "Come on; I'll show you how to get these out." She lead Adam out of the room before anything else could go wrong.

* * *

_"Family is like music: Some high notes, some low notes, but always a beautiful song."_

**Unknown**

* * *

_"Bad habits are like a comfortable bed: Easy to get into, but hard to get out of."_

**Unknown**

* * *

_**Chase**_

"Master, how is it that _your _son is so stupid?" Oly asked when Adam, Yahn and Bree were safely out of earshot.

Well, Adam wasn't stupid at _everything_. Or was he? I never could tell anymore. But I didn't recall him being hopelessly idiotic.

"I don't know," Douglas sighed, "but everyday is like a kick in the nads with him."

"Hey," Leo huffed. "Adam has his moments!"

Douglas glanced at Leo before nodding. "He just frustrates me sometimes."

Now _that_ was better.

_Are you going to lick the blood off of the carpet or not?! _my inner demon voice huffed suddenly. It had been urging me to do so since Daxal showed up with that dead bird.

_No, I'm not_, I responded.

_All of that delicious blood, wasted!_

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "So where is Krane today?" I asked to change the subject. It was what Douglas was working on in the kitchen.

You see, every third day, we got to monitor Krane's movements. Two days to hack into his GPS and one to watch until the code changed amd blocked us out again.

"He's still in Italy," Douglas answered. "Looks like he's taking time to heal and get used to partial blindness."

Good. The psycho was homicidal and had a total hard on for our blood. That we could slow him down with a gunshot wound and a gouged eye was nothing short of a relief. He had been in one spot every time we had spied on him in the past week. As far as I was concerned, it was a much-needed respite from our hunt.

Adam walked back into the room with a stain remover, Yahn yawning on his shoulder. Bree followed behind him. "Spray it on the stains and rub until it comes out," she was explaining.

"This seems like a job for Chase," Adam said, smirking. "He won't be a young girl forever. He needs to learn this stuff."

Did I mention that this shit - though not as frequent - had started again? Adam may have had the voice of an angel, but still.

I mean, did I have to make another hurricane for this guy?

I just pinned my ears and hissed.

"Chase isn't a girl," Douglas drawled from the kitchen. "I promise; I saw everything when he was a baby."

The freaking _room _blushed at his frankness. While Douglas continued writing, Bree was covering her eyes while Adam, Leo and I looked at anything but each other. I didn't know about them, but my cheeks were _burning_. "Really, Douglas?"

"The human body is a beautiful thing and absolutely nothing to be ashamed of," Douglas responded absently.

Even so, I was still embarrassed. Oly had started laughing. "It's probably still the size of a Tic-Tac!"

I grabbed her tail and tossed her off of my shoulder. It was petty, but it made me feel better when she hit the wall.

"Oh, I want in on this! I bet I can throw _farther!"_ Adam declared suddenly, dropping the stain remover and advancing towards me.

Oh, _hell _no.

I turned to run, but he caught the back of my shirt and lifted me into the air. "Help!" I yelped.

Douglas looked up immediately at that, taking in the scene that was new to him, but too familiar to me. "Adam, what in the _hell_ -"

Too late. I went flying across the room, screaming as I cleared the freestanding counter. I crashed into the kitchen cabinets with a yelp before plummeting to the floor, hitting the counter that graced the wall on the way down. I met the cold tile with my back, the breath forcibly released from my lungs.

"Hey, you cleared it!" I heard Leo say, followed by laughter in the background. All of this was silenced by an extremely angry statement by Douglas, but I couldn't make the words out. Instead, I was focusing on a few words of my own.

_Commando App: Engaged._

Oh, hell. This wouldn't end well.

* * *

**Woo! Douglas was _pissed_ when he saw that. But Spike might take care of it on his own.**

**Anyways, feel free to review. Or don't. I don't care. But I hear that every review makes Chase grow a quarter of an inch...**

**Probably a rumor, though.**

**Anyways, enjoy.**

***Bows and exits***


	2. Chapter 2 - Lesson Learned

**Welcome to Chapter Two, ya'll!**

**I'm betting that you want to know immediately what happened with Spike, since he and the voice would get along very well.**

**Well, I hope you enjoy it. Having to keep Spike on a chain isn't fun. He keeps pulling on it and snarling at everything. I swear that he dislocated my arm at one point. O_o**

**But before we let him go, you have to sit through this. Ha ha!**

**Thank you, all my readers and reviewers. I mean, 9 on one chapter? I squeed and scared the crap out of my guinea pig, I was so happy. :3**

**Moonlit:**** Old habits die hard, I'm afraid.**

**Mia-Teresa-Davenport:**** Yes, Adam, run!**

**AllAmericanSlurp:**** ._. Demonic…hypnotherapy….**

**DisneyXDGirl:**** Well…Spike is a bit harsh…**

**Gg180000:**** I laughed so hard when I read this. Not kidding. Made my day. xD**

**DarkestKing:**** Wait until you see how much more destructive Spike is.**

**UnknownForNow:**** Something tells me you're making a suggestion…don't rightly know what it is, though…(xD Thanks.)**

**RissA15: "Psst, Douglas: How long can fangirls go without water?"**

**"About 6 - 8 days, max. Why?"**

**"We should wait them out. This war might yet turn in our favor!"**

**So, want to find out what's going on? Spike?**

**"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. ****_Or me._**** Let me off this chain, bitch! Oh, and if you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."**

**._. Everyone, take cover. *Lets Spike off the chain and runs***

* * *

_"In life, there are no mistakes, only lessons."_

**Vic Johnson, ****_Day by Day with James Allen_**

* * *

_"I learned in an extremely hard way that the accountability falls with me."_

**Stephen Baldwin**

* * *

**Chapter Two – Lesson Learned**

**_Leo_**

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Douglas was ranting. "You could hurt somebody throwing them like that! Chase isn't a frisbee; you can't just –"

The loudest, most unholy growl sounded from the kitchen, cutting him off. The noise made the hair on the back of Leo's neck stand up in fear. He almost didn't want to look.

But, as everyone else was blanching, he knew he had to. Knowing already what was waiting for him, he glanced at the counter that had hidden Chase's landing.

With bared teeth, lashing tail and pinned ears, Chase had risen and was glaring at Adam with a cut-throat expression. Where he would normally be yelling by now, Chase was deathly quiet. Although he was silent – save for the growl – Leo knew immediately that Spike had come to play.

Douglas jumped up from his seat and started to back away slowly, his eyes flashing with alarm. He was the closest to the murderous half-demon, after all.

Speaking of half-demon, how in the _hell_ would Spike act _now?_ Would he just engage in random destruction like he used to, or would he actually tear someone's head off? The evil mental voice that Chase had mentioned a while back would be right up Spike's alley.

"What's up with you, Half-Breed?" Oly asked, jumping onto the counter in front of Spike. "Pissed that you're weak enough to be thrown around or something?"

Spike snarled, picked up an apple from the bowl of fruit near him, and shoved it into Oly's beak. She coughed and stumbled back in surprise, spitting out shredded bits of fruit as Spike's deep, gravelly voice sounded for the first time. "I am not _weak, bitch."_

"Holy crap, _run!"_

Bree's declaration was followed by chaos as everyone scattered, running for cover. Leo himself dove behind the television, Ysthry leaping off of his shoulders to take cover under him as he flattened himself on the floor.

"I didn't say that you could go anywhere!" Spike roared. Seconds later, incredible heat and orange light filled the room, accented by loud crackling. Leo chanced a look from his hiding place only to find – to his horror – that the entire couch had burst into flames. Spike leapt onto the counter, crouched low with his hands raised. The firelight playing with the shadows on his face made him look like a total bat out of hell as he pointed at something, his tail lashing. "_You!_" He took a flying leap off of the counter, roaring like a mountain lion. When he landed behind the flaming couch, a terrified scream sounded – _Adam,_ Leo realized as bile rose in his throat – and was intensified by a loud crack. Leo struggled to stop himself from jumping out of hiding to find his downed brother – if Spike killed him, too, then where would everyone be? – but was rewarded by a howl of pain.

_Spike's_, to be specific.

Said demon was suddenly backing out from behind the couch, shaking his arm as hard as he could to rid it of the furious Yahn, who had bitten down on his wrist and wasn't letting go for anything. A figure – nothing but a shadow in the firelight – dove towards the spot where Adam had to have been.

_Fire,_ he suddenly thought. _The whole house is going to burn down if someone doesn't put that fire out!_ Even as he thought it, the flames were starting to move along the carpet. "Ysthry," he decided quickly, "help Yahn, but don't poison Spike!"

The little imp scurried out from under him and dove into the fray just as Spike managed to get Yahn off of him. The dragon imp hissed and flapped her wings in Spike's face to disorient him as Oly rammed him between his wings, knocking him forward.

While Spike was distracted, Leo jumped to his feet and bolted towards the kitchen, his eyes locked on the fire extinguisher. He had no idea how to use it, but he was going to get it, by god! He grabbed it from the counter top and turned around only to see a blur running circles around the blaze, killing it in seconds.

Thank god for Bree and her vortex – creating speed!

"Hey, kid: Give me that!"

Leo glanced at the yowling, snarling mess that was Spike against three imps only to see Oly holding her hands towards him. Without thinking, he threw the fire extinguisher at her. She caught it and – with an unnerving grin – cracked Spike over the head with it. The loudest of the fighting ceased as Spike collapsed, the room reverberating with the dull, metallic thud the fire extinguisher had made when it collided with his skull.

"Oly!" Bree snapped. "You could kill him doing that!"

Oly glanced at Spike – unconscious on the floor – and shrugged, casually throwing the fire extinguisher over her shoulder to land somewhere near the door. "I'm sure he's fine."

"Who's fine?"

Leo was relieved to hear Adam's question. He looked at the couch only to see his eldest brother sitting up and favoring his arm. Beside him, Douglas had one hand on his back and was looking at Adam's injury with a critical eye. "So, Adam: What have we learned about throwing Chase?"

"_Don't,"_ Adam answered, wincing as his arm moved a bit.

"Lucky for you, you're getting off lightly," Douglas continued. "Just a broken arm, it looks like."

"What happened?!"

Leo jumped at Mr. Davenport's voice. The man in question was standing at the bottom of the stairs with Tasha behind him, gaping at the scene. Between the scorched mess that used to be the couch, Adam obviously hurt on the floor, and Chase lying face-down near it all, Yahn and Ysthry perched on his back, Leo could see where someone would be shocked.

Shocked was actually an understatement. Mr. Davenport looked ready to _explode._

Douglas decided to speak at that moment. "Before you lose it, I would like to go on record and say that the Commando App works _perfectly._ Just throwing that out there."

* * *

_"When a monster stopped behaving like a monster, did it stop being a monster? Did it become something else?"_

**Kristin Cashore, _Graceling_**

* * *

_" 'Yes, yes,' said the Beast, 'my heart is good, but still I am a monster.'_

_"'Among mankind,' says Beauty, 'there are many that deserve that name more than you, and I prefer you, just as you are, to those who, under a human form, hide a treacherous, corrupt, and ungrateful heart.'"_

**Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont**

* * *

**_Chase_**

Why did it feel like I was hit upside the head with a brick?

Whatever the reason, I did _not_ appreciate it.

Groaning, I rolled onto my back only to be overwhelmed by nausea and dizziness. Swallowing down the threat to vomit, I waited until my head cleared before I finally opened my eyes to find Mr. Davenport and Leo crouched over me.

Okay, so _what_ happened?

_Oh, kill them!_

_What? No,_ I thought angrily as I rubbed my eyes a bit.

_I liked that other you better,_ my voice muttered. _What was his name? Spike, I think. _He_ was destructive. A proper demon._

Spike?! I sat up rapidly – despite the protests from Mr. Davenport that I should be careful – and winced as the dizzying nausea returned. This time, I actually _did_ throw up – disgusting, by the way – on the ashes near me.

Ashes? What?

My vision cleared to reveal the charred remains of the couch not five feet from me, the upholstery creating an acrid scent in the air.

What did Spike _do?!_

I flinched suddenly as someone touched the back of my head, causing pain to radiate throughout my body. "Oly hit you _hard,"_ I heard Leo say.

"Oly did _what?"_ I asked, frowning as I rubbed the back of my head. I could feel dried blood matting my hair.

"Apparently, Oly hit you over the head with that," Mr. Davenport answered, nodding towards a fire extinguisher.

"Technically, she hit Spike with it," Leo corrected.

"What did Spike do?" I asked, dreading the answer. I probably didn't even want to know, but I would find out eventually. Better now than later, I supposed.

"See, he lit the couch on fire and broke Adam's arm," Leo began. "But that's about it."

Holy _hell._ "Oh, god," I muttered, rubbing my eyes with my palms and lowering my ears. I had been afraid something like that would happen eventually. It was the main reason I ran away in the first place. Now that it _had…._

Adam must hate me, at the very least. Everyone else would probably walk on eggshells. All that effort to avoid a situation like that, _wasted._ Damn it!

"I'm so sorry," I mumbled dejectedly. It didn't feel like enough, but it was all I could do right then.

"Why?"

I glanced at Mr. Davenport. "I…did _this,"_ I huffed helplessly, gesturing at the living room.

"Spike did this," Leo corrected.

"Who's in charge of reigning Spike in?" I snapped. When nobody answered, I sighed. "Where's Adam?"

"Down in the Lab with everyone else," Mr. Davenport answered quietly. "Douglas is making a cast." After a second's hesitation, he added, "No one blames you, you know."

"_I_ blame me," I growled. Because it was my fault. I didn't have a good enough handle on Spike, and it bit everyone else in the ass.

"You shouldn't," Leo said firmly. "Besides, Oly handled it before Spike got too out of hand."

"Speaking of, what happened to your wrist?" Mr. Davenport asked, picking up my hand.

I frowned and looked at it. A couple of triangular lacerations graced both sides of my wrist. "I have no idea."

"Yahn bit you," Leo answered.

"Yahn bit me," I echoed. It really didn't hurt compared to the concussion, but I figured that it would scar later. When Yahn bit, it was usually pretty hard. "So…what are we going to do about the couch?"

"Replace it," Mr. Davenport answered. He rubbed the back of my hand with his thumb when I sighed. "Listen to me: You didn't do this. It wasn't your fault. Understand?" He took hold of my chin and made me look at him when I didn't answer. "_Understand?"_ This time, I nodded half-heartedly. He nodded himself and let go of me. "Good. Now, let's find out how Adam's coping." He stood up and rolled his shoulders a bit.

Leo stood up beside him and offered me his hand, which I took. Once he had helped me stand up – a bit more vomit joined the rest – and my head had cleared, we started towards the elevator.

Hopefully everyone would be as understanding as Mr. Davenport and Leo were.

_They won't be. You are a demon. You were meant to destroy. This is who you are, and they all know it. This is all you _can_ be._

Stupid little voice.

What bothered me about what it said was that somewhere – way, _way_ deep down - I had a horrible feeling that it was right.

* * *

**Okay, got that son-of-a-bitch under control and back to Chase.**

**Poor Adam. And Chasey.**

**Screw it: Poor everybody. **

**That little demon voice is one manipulative son-of-a-bitch, isn't it?**

**I'm not too pleased with my portrayal of Spike – too enclosed a space for me to unleash him fully, which pisses me off – but I tried, damn it. :P**

**Anyways, feel free to review. Or don't. I don't care.**

**And enjoy. :3**

***Bows and exits***


	3. Chapter 3 - Guard-goyle

**Chapter Three: 'Tis kind of short filler, I'm afraid. Sad day, right? But it's here.**

**Anywho, thank you to my reviewers and readers and those aliens that abducted Leo last night but were kind enough to bring him back. :3 Good show.**

**Mia-Teresa-Davenport: "Other me, control your woman! Damn!"**

**RissA15: *Eats popcorn and casually watches while fangirls swarm their leader in a scene filled with irony.***

**AllAmericanSlurp: Oly, quite simply, did not want to deal with a rampaging Spike at that moment.**

**gg180000: Don't worry; we've got it covered.**

**Moonlit: You know I give away very few spoilers, if any. :P**

**Unknownfornow: I don't know if Spike's coming back. However, it's like you read my mind on the Tasha/Davenport thing.**

**DarkestKing: Eventually.**

**DisneyXDGirl: Nah. Just fire extinguishers. :P**

**So let's do this. Yahn?**

**"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."**

* * *

_"...It's a dangerous trail - a difficult quest - if you want to know who you really are..."_

**Muru, "Who You Really Are"**

* * *

_"...'Cause I'm no angel; I have two faces. I put one on for you; put one on for me. These angels and demons won't set me free..."_

**Melissa Otero, "Angels and Demons"**

* * *

**Chapter Three - Guard-goyle**

_**Chase**_

The second I entered the Lab, Adam dove behind Douglas. "Eat him first, Spike!"

"I'm expendable. Good to know," Douglas muttered, crossing his arms.

I lowered my ears shamefully while Mr. Davenport patted my back. "I'm not Spike anymore."

"Oh, good," Adam sighed with relief, grinning as he stepped out from behind his human shield. I couldn't take my eyes off of the white cast covering his forearm or the sling that held his arm across his chest for stability. I couldn't tell if I was dizzy from the concussion or the intensity of the guilt that welled up inside me.

Oly jumped onto the cyber desk. "Pity. I kind of want to hang out with Spike when he's in a better mood. You know: Twist the heads off of small animals, level buildings, so on."

Tasha thumped Oly behind the ear, glaring at her. "Shut up."

"You can't make me do a _damn_ -"

"Shut _up_, Oly," Douglas interrupted, forcing Oly into a reluctant silence.

"Adam, I'm sorry," I whimpered.

"For this?" Adam asked, gesturing at his cast. "Why? Spike did it. Besides, now everyone gets to sign it."

"Oh, me first!" Bree declared, vanishing in a blur before she reappeared next to Adam with a sharpie, the words _Bree is more awesome than me_ now gracing the cast.

"Ha!" Douglas snorted while Leo high-fived Bree.

"Really, Bree?" Adam huffed.

Bree smirked. "Everybody knows it, anyways."

Leo pushed out from behind me and took the sharpie from Bree. Grinning, he wrote some words after Bree's sentence, changing the meaning of it.

_Bree is more awesome than me, but not as awesome as Leo!_

I perked my ears, smiling at Bree's annoyed expression.

"You couldn't come up with anything more creative than that?" Ysthry growled, swooping down from her perch on who-cared-what to land on Leo's shoulder.

"I can spend the next hour thinking of fun things you can do," Leo threatened casually.

Ysthry hid her head under one of her wings.

Meanwhile, Douglas took the sharpie from Leo and signed nothing but his name with a flourish, the cursive script looking more like an autograph than a casual signature. "_That's_ how you sign something," he declared.

Beside me, I could image the eyeroll that had to accompany Mr. Davenport's words. "How much time did you spend practicing _that?"_

Douglas crossed his arms and glared at Mr. Davenport, but didn't say anything as our snickers reverberated around the room.

Tasha took the sharpie with a smirk and wrote a simple get-well message with her name, which Mr. Davenport seconded with his signature. He then held the sharpie out to me. I stepped forward to take it - obviously moving closer to Adam - but I froze before I could take it due to a snarl of warning. Yahn was standing near Adam's feet, his eyes blazing with protective fury.

_I told you! _my voice declared victoriously.

Oh, right: I almost forgot that _I_ caused Adam's broken arm. I didn't deserve to sign the cast; it would be like I was signing off on a masterpiece.

Yahn snapped his beak warningly, and - my ears and tail lowered - I backed away rapidly. Once I was in my original spot, Yahn cooled it instantly. He even _smiled_ at me.

"Really, Yahn?" Douglas asked. He gestured at me. "Chase isn't a threat."

"He is a grenade poised to blow," Yahn explained casually, like it _didn't _feel like he had kicked me in the stomach. He was right. Who knew when Spike would show back up? Or what he would do when he did?

"_Half-Breed?_" Oly tilted her head at me in consideration before she started laughing. "You're too paranoid, Yahn."

"Yeah," Leo defended. "Chase is mostly harmless."

Mostly harmless. Thanks for nothing, Leo.

"It's the 'mostly' I'm watching for," Yahn stated, eyeing me cautiously.

I lowered my tail and backed away some more. Sometimes, honesty sucked.

"Yahn, stop bugging Chase," Douglas growled.

"Seriously; he's fine," Tasha added.

I was feeling slightly better with each defense of my character when my voice popped up. _You're so easily fooled. You shouldn't focus on who is talking or what they're saying. Focus on who_ isn't _speaking: Adam._

I frowned, thinking back over the last five minutes. Amid the strong opposition to Yahn's actions stood a very silent Adam, simply watching everything.

Was my voice right? Did he want someone to protect him from me? Was he really - on some subconscious level - afraid of me now? He had every right to be, but it still bothered me greatly.

_See? He thinks you're a monster. How long until the others think so, too?_

Was I nauseous from the concussion or that observation? It was hard to tell.

"Chase isn't going to hurt anybody else," Mr. Davenport was saying, pulling me out of my thoughts. "You don't need to -"

"It's fine," I blurted out, interrupting him. Everyone stared at me, slightly surprised at my outburst. "It's fine," I repeated more quietly.

"Are you sure, Chase?" Bree asked.

"Yeah, yeah," I answered, swallowing down the urge to tell them that I wasn't. It wasn't their problem, after all. It was mine and mine alone. I pointed towards the tunnel over my shoulder. "I'll just...clean up the mess I - Spike - made." I turned around - a bit too fast; I was dizzy as hell for a second - and started for the tunnel. It wouldn't accomplish much, but it would assuage my guilt a bit.

I made it to the tunnel entrance when Adam finally spoke. "Wait: Don't you want to sign my cast?"

I paused and gave Adam a smile. I wondered if it looked as insincere as it felt. "I'll sign it later." Before anyone else added anything, I was in the tunnel and around the corner.

* * *

_I was right,_ my voice was boasting. _They are afraid of you, as they should be!_

I pinned my ears and rubbed harder at the soot staining the floor, sighing when bits of carpet came loose. The carpet around the couch would have to be replaced. Damn it.

I was so engrossed in my guilty thoughts that I didn't notice that someone had joined me until they touched my shoulder. I sighed again. "Douglas-"

"-is still in the Lab," Tasha interrupted, rubbing my back. "He's chewing Yahn out."

I smiled halfway. "Sounds about right."

She chuckled a bit before becoming more serious. "Are you all right?" When I nodded, she sighed. "At least let me help you clean."

I sat back on my heels, my lips pursed. "I don't think we can clean it without tearing up the floor," I noted.

Tasha - probably the most serious person I knew - started laughing.

I perked my ears and looked at her, my head tilted quizzically.

She patted my back, still chuckling a bit. "Sweetie, I meant the part that _isn't _permanent." She nodded at the pigeon bloodstains that were left from earlier. I had already scooped up the vomit from earlier - fucking _nasty _- so at least we didn't have to bother with that anymore.

"I can get it," I said. "Thanks, though."

"I'm helping you," Tasha said more firmly. "Try to stop me."

I watched as she stood up and went to the kitchen to get a cleaning rag. _See? _I thought smugly. _Tasha isn't afraid of me._

_Then she is a fool, _came the response. _You are a _demon_, and she is stupid not to see it._

This repetitive bastard was starting to get on my nerves. _That's not _all _I am._

_Are you sure?_

I hissed with annoyance, catching Tasha's attention. She frowned at me. "What's wrong?"

I stood up, rubbing my eyes until the dizziness passed. "Nothing," I answered.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm _fine!"_ I snapped, anger flaring at the question that I had just heard word-for-word seconds before.

Tasha threw her hands up innocently. "If you're sure." She let a bit of silence pass before she spoke again. "Listen: Why don't _I_ clean this up? You can -"

"I'm helping," I mumbled, anger turning into regret at having snapped at Tasha. "Try and stop me."

_Who are you trying to fool with your 'mommy's-little-helper' act? Everyone, or yourself?_

Setting my jaw, I resolved to ask Douglas or Oly later if there was a way to shut my voice up for good.

* * *

**It's about time Chase got pissed at that little voice in his head. It's been bugging him for months!**

**I think this chapter kind of sucked, to be honest, but shit happens sometimes. What can ya do?**

**Anyways, feel free to review. Or don't. I have a guinea pig. I don't need your approval. O_o :P**

**And enjoy.**

***Bows and exits***


	4. Chapter 4 - Oops

**Chapter Four. Woo!**

**It was going to be different, but I hated it and rewrote the whole thing. XD**

**Also, while it's bugging me: Does anyone else remember the movie "Osmosis Jones," or am I just old?**

**Anywho, thanks to my reviewers, readers, and the teen mom who was smart enough to stop talking before I shanked her last night. I mean, pointing at a baby and saying you need clothes in "her size" doesn't help me help you! If you don't know your own baby's clothes size, you're too irresponsible to have a baby! _Damn!_**

**DarkestKing: I tried to think of ways to describe it, but, as always, Urban Dictionary did it better. "Similar to face palm, bridge pinch is the act of pinching the bridge of your nose with your middle finger and thumb in exasperation." It also kind of shows reluctant resignation to an idea. Or so is my opinion. :3**

**Moonlit: "I do like to think a lot. :3"**

**gg180000: Preach!**

**UnknownForNow: We'll find out eventually why Adam was silent. :3**

**AllAmericanSlurp: "Yay! I'm slowly getting taller!"**

**Mia-Teresa-Davenport: "Don't be hugging me. O_o"**

**DisneyXDGirl: ...Adam? He's hiding now...**

**RissA15: Looks like the fangirls employ mob mentality.**

**"No discipline. We can _easily_ destroy them! Just give the word!"**

**Soon, Douglas. Soon**

**This isn't the best chapter, but it's kind of okay. So here it is. Oly?**

**"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."**

* * *

_"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."_

**Dr. Seuss**

* * *

_"No matter how bad things are, you can always make things worse."_

**Randy Pausch, _The Last Lecture_**

* * *

**Chapter Four - Oops**

_**Douglas**_

"Is there a way to turn off evil voices in your head?"

Douglas jumped slightly at the unexpected question and looked up from the laptop he was watching to see Chase standing just inside his room_. I should pay more attention to my surroundings_, he thought. However, that could wait for a second.

He just _had _to hear Chase say that sentence again. It was amusing.

"And don't make me say it again," Chase hissed, seeming to read Douglas' mind. "I'm being serious."

Damn. Way to suck the fun out of the situation. "All right," Douglas sighed. "What kind of evil voice? One that insists you commit a crime? One that's urging you to overthrow countries?" He clapped his hands together once and grinned. "Oh, I know: One that wants you to sacrifice babies to a six-headed god named Lou Finklestein! Is it _that_ one?"

Chase - instead of laughing or smiling like he normally would - sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes. "Forget it," he muttered, obviously frustrated. "It wasn't important, anyways."

"No, no, no," Douglas rapidly said as Chase turned to leave. "Come on; I was only kidding. Tell me what's going..." He trailed off as Chase vanished through the door, his tail lashing.

Douglas frowned, a bit confused. Why in the _hell _would Chase not stay? The kid was always one for opening up when he wanted to. Him asking a question and then just dropping it?

It wasn't normal.

_Maybe he's just tired or something_, Douglas reasoned. Chase would be fine. He probably needed a nap or something to eat. Maybe a shot of Jack Daniels, even.

Nah. Chase was probably a lightweight. He wouldn't be able to handle Jack Daniels. And Douglas didn't want an "underage drinking is bad" lecture, either. Besides, the last thing Chase needed was to be drunk off his ass _and_ huffy about something. That was a problem waiting to happen.

Douglas would know; he'd gotten in trouble a few times that way.

He stared at the door a few more seconds with naïve hope - maybe Chase would come back - before he turned back to the computer that displayed a little blinking dot - Krane - in Italy. He had moved the tracking operation upstairs once the smell of burnt furniture became unbearable. The freaking dot hadn't moved in _hours_. He honestly had no idea why he was still watching the computer. It was obvious that Krane wasn't going anywhere soon! In fact, it bored him greatly.

Why wasn't Krane moving?! Go outside, kick a puppy, steal candy from toddlers and blame the guy next to you!

It was like no one knew how to be a criminal anymore.

A scratching sound filled the room. Curious, Douglas glanced at the window to see Oly scratching impatiently at the glass. "Let me in!" she huffed, her voice muffled.

He debated leaving her outside all night - the sun was setting, anyways; she wouldn't be out there for more than ten or so hours - but he got up after a moment with a sigh. As he walked to the window, Oly complained the whole time about how slow humans were.

He rolled his eyes. It wasn't like she didn't have a fucking _eternity_ at her disposal.

When he opened the window, Oly leapt to the floor and shook herself like a dog, water droplets flying everywhere.

Including all over him.

He suddenly regretted letting Oly in.

Stifling a sigh, he closed the window. "Why didn't you just come in downstairs?"

"Half-Breed threw me out and locked the door," she explained, jumping into the chair Douglas had just evacuated. "No one would let me in."

Douglas chuckled and crossed his arms. "What did you do to piss him off?"

"He asked how to turn off mental voices," she answered, laying down and curling up. "I told him that they weren't into cheap dates. So I spent the past hour outside."

Maybe _that_ was why Chase was in a bad mood? He'd have to ask about it. It couldn't be the first time Chase was annoyed at the little voice in his head. From what little Chase had said about it, Douglas gathered enough to know that he would want it gone if it were in his own head. "All right; but why are you _wet?"_

"I told that Eddy thing to let me in. He turned on the sprinklers."

That figured. Douglas nodded at her as she glanced at the laptop screen. "Eddy's an asshole."

"No kidding," Oly agreed before she pointed at the computer screen. "What do you think this guy will do next?"

"Hopefully, he'll give up," Douglas answered. "At this second, he's probably not doing anything but plotting."

Oly snorted. "Then why are you watching him? You should go beat manners into Half-Breed."

Well, maybe Douglas wouldn't do _that_, but he did want to find Chase. Besides, Oly was right; Krane was going nowhere. "Maybe I will," he said, starting for the door.

"I want to see!" Oly declared excitedly, hopping out of the chair and climbing up Douglas until she was perched on his shoulder.

Resisting the urge to push her off - she was getting water all over his shirt - he glanced at the laptop one more time.

Still stationary, the little dot blinked.

Satisfied that Krane was staying put, Douglas turned out the light and left the room.

Meanwhile, on the screen, the little red dot blinked every second or so.

Blink.

Blink.

Blink.

Gone.

The digital world map - now free of the tracking dot - that adorned the screen became the backdrop of a single red sentence as the screen dimmed and darkened, the computer entering standby mode.

_Error: Signal lost._

* * *

_"For there is no friend like a sister in calm or stormy weather; To cheer one on the tedious way, to fetch one if one goes astray, to lift one if one totters down, to strengthen whilst one stands."_

**Christina Rossetti**

* * *

_"Truth is everybody is going to hurt you: you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for."_

**Bob Marley**

* * *

_**Bree**_

Oly!

The little snot had been stealing rhinestones again.

With a frustrated sigh, Bree tossed yet another ruined hair clip into the trash. She really should set a trap or something for the greedy little imp. Maybe a nice electric shock would keep the thief at bay.

She nudged carefully. He had been in a bad mood when he entered the Lab and sat beside her earlier. Hopefully, he would be willing to help. "Chase?"

He swiveled one ear towards her, but kept one pointed at Leo, who was trying to get a paper airplane to land in Adam's sling from across the room. Ysthry and Yahn were on the floor between the two, watching the little planes sail over their heads and occasionally swatting one down for fun.

Taking that as a signal to talk, she decided to just jump right in. "Do you think you could set up a trap that would keep Oly from stealing my rhinestones?"

He didn't answer for a moment. However, when he did speak, it wasn't helpful. "Oly is over 3,000 years old. There isn't a trap I could make that she can't get through."

"What about some kind of lock, then?" Bree insisted.

More silence passed before he finally nodded. "Maybe the Davenwall's fingerprint system could be put in a lock box so only you could open it." He finally looked at her. "Do you have a box?"

Bree nodded, standing up and speeding up to the second floor - passing Douglas - Oly on his shoulder - on the way and nearly knocking him over - and into the room she had claimed as her sanctuary for when she wanted privacy. She only had a plastic lock box - with a stupid key that wasn't even needed to open it - but it was better than nothing. Picking it up off the desk, she sped back downstairs - nearly knocking Douglas and Oly over a second time - and into the Lab, stopping beside Chase. "Will this work?"

"Easily," he answered. He stood up and began to mess around with the cyber desk a bit. His expression gradually went from frustrated and moody to serene and focused as he worked. It was amazing how something as simple as working on a technological project always seemed to put him in a better mood. Maybe he just enjoyed it that much? Or just liked to feel useful?

The reason didn't really matter. If it made him happy, then who cared?

About ten minutes later, the Chip Fabricator - one of Mr. Davenport's rather lame inventions - dinged, announcing the birth of a microchip.

"Find a way to take that old lock out," Chase told her before he went to examine the chip.

Bree frowned at the lock, examining it for a second before she rolled her eyes. A couple of screws held it in. That was all. How a thief couldn't break into that was inconceivable. Picking up a screwdriver, she quickly unscrewed the lock and pulled it free, leaving a big hole in the box.

Across the room, Chase was pressing the chip into a small device and securing the back. Bree noticed that the front was nothing but a jumble of tiny wires as he flipped it over. As she watched, Chase manipulated the wires - joined some, disconnected others - with the gentleness of one who was rubbing a newborn kitten behind the ears. It was like he was painting the next Mona Lisa.

Hell, maybe the little device was _his_ idea of art.

"What is Chase doing?"

Bree jumped a bit at Douglas' question. Apparently, she wasn't observant enough to notice when he decided to stand right beside her. Oly was watching Adam and Leo throw airplanes, her head tilted curiously.

"He's building a fingerprint-activated lock," Bree answered.

"And it's ready for your fingerprint," Chase cut in from across the room as he fixed the little screen to the front, sealing away the wires. He carried it to the desk - holding it so that he didn't touch the screen - and held it out to her. "Press and hold."

She pressed her thumb to the screen gently. After a few seconds, it beeped and a little light at the top flashed green. Chase then inserted it into the gaping hole in her box. One minute of screwdriving and wire-running later, the lock beeped again, the small light flashing red.

Chase stood back. "That should do it."

Bree pressed her thumb to the lock. Almost immediately, it beeped and flashed green as the box popped open. Delighted, she closed it again, ignoring the little beep and red flash as it locked. "Awesome; thanks!"

Douglas patted his shoulder. "Nice lock," he complimented, causing Chase to purr. It was a strange sound - a deep rumble from deep in his chest somewhere - but it complimented the proud glow in Chase's eyes.

"Let's see you steal my stuff when you're trying to get past _his_ lock, Oly!" Bree gently punched Chase's arm to accent her point, but was startled when he yelped and clapped and hand over the area she touched. "I didn't hit you _that_ hard," she instantly defended.

Chase gave her a tight grin - his purr gone - and mumbled, "It's fine. I deserved it." Without another word, he turned and walked from the Lab, vanishing around the tunnel curve.

Bree was bewildered. Did she do something wrong?

And why did Chase think he deserved whatever she did?!

"What's _his_ problem?" Adam asked, finally paying attention to his surroundings.

Douglas - rather than telling anyone - just took Bree's hand and held it up, pointing at a silver ring Owen had given her on their six-month anniversary.

Oh, wait: Fucking _silver_.

Oops.

What a good way to show appreciation. Hey, thanks for that. Here, let me pay you with a silver burn!

Some sister _she _was.

* * *

**Where'd Krane go?! And is Oly gonna break through the lock anyways?**

**You'll just have to wait and see. :3**

**Also, bad Douglas for suggesting underaged drinking!**

**Feel free to review. Or don't. No fucks given here.**

**And enjoy.**

***Bows and exits***


	5. Chapter 5 - Lost

**Chapter Five is a bunch of filling. **

**Many much fillings.**

**But I have officially seen "You Posted What?!" So that's something, I guess. I kind of want that bionic army to make its move. Not because I want to see the world end, but because I want to see what everyone's going to do about it. Also, what's that government guy gonna make 'em do? Sequester the Senate until some bill that he doesn't support can't pass? I mean, what could the government make them do that they aren't doing already?**

**Meddling government and all that.**

**Anywho, random fact: While I was watching it, I was drinking a Coke with a label that read, "Share a Coke with Bree."**

**It was all kinds of win.**

**Anyways, thanks to my readers, my reviewers, and the spazzes that keep sending us cookies in hopes that we'll love them more. We won't, but we like the cookies. :3**

**AllAmericanSlurp:**** "Yes! I'm taller than Adam!"**

** o.O By god, his head is hitting the door frame. Does anyone have a ray gun that'll stop this madness!?**

**Moonlit:**** *Kicks Douglas* Say it.**

***Rolls his eyes* "I don't encourage drunkenness. Officially. Now, unofficially –"**

**That's enough. Thank you.**

**RissA15:**** The leader's in the open! Quick, someone get the sniper rifle ready! Cut the head off the beast!**

**Gg18000:**** LOL**

**Mia-Teresa-Davenport:**** "…It's like this girl is asking me to light her on fire. Dude, Douglas, are you seeing this?!"**

**"Either light her on fire or shut up about it. ****_Damn._****"**

**DisneyXDGirl:**** Oly, be nice –**

**"****_Listen here, you little shit."_**

**UnknownForNow:**** Chase's various cat qualities are literally the best thing to write about with him. Instead of saying, "I'm mad," he could pin his ears and lash his tail. Maybe even growl a bit. It adds so much more body language to him, and it's just so much fun! xD**

**XxDavenportsxX:**** *Waves* Oh hello!**

**Okay, now who wants to do this? Hmm…Evil little voice?**

**_"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."_**

* * *

_"I'm not sure this is a world I belong in anymore. I'm not sure that I want to wake up."_

**Gayle Forman****_, If I Stay_**

* * *

_"If you hear a voice within you say, 'you cannot paint,' then, by all means, paint, and that voice will be silenced."_

**Vincent Van Gogh**

* * *

**Chapter Five - Lost**

**_Chase_**

_It wasn't an accident. She knew exactly what she was doing._

The little voice was going to be the death of me. I pinned my ears as I poked near the tiny burn on my arm from the safety of the upstairs bathroom. Bree just forgot that her ring was silver. That was all. She wouldn't do that on purpose.

_Wouldn't she? _

I wondered briefly if I could make that voice hurt if I hit my head hard enough.

But thoughts were an abstract concept at best. It couldn't feel pain.

Damn.

_When people want to protect themselves against demons, what do they do?_

_ Lots of things,_ I began. I didn't know what I was trying to prove, but I was going to prove it, by god! _Burn incense, set traps, use religious icons that don't actually work but make the person feel better, pray some, throw holy water around, wear silver…._

Oh, for christ's sake! I just proved the wrong point.

And my voice was all over it. _Exactly! She wants you to stay away!_

That couldn't be it. _You're full of shit,_ I responded irritably.

_Yet you're looking at proof right now. _

I quickly pulled down my sleeve to hide the burn. It was a bit childish – like a kid who denied stealing cookies when their shirt was covered in crumbs – but it made me feel slightly better.

After a second's pause, my voice continued. _You know that I know everything that happens around you. The only difference is that I can see it more clearly. I'm not blinded by your foolish human half's illusion of "love." Try and think for a moment. You tried to get rid of me – I know this – but the ones you asked did nothing but crack jokes because they did not care. Meanwhile, your siblings are trying to protect themselves from you._

I started to grind my teeth. _They aren't –_

_ One with silver, and the other with an imp, _it went on. _As for the little one – Leo – how long until he tells Ysthry to protect himself from you? He could've already done so. _

_ Leo wouldn't –_

_ Your mother and that second father of yours – Davenport, was it? You don't even call him "dad" – where are they in all of this? It seems like they have been hiding all day, doesn't it? Perhaps to get away from you?_

I hated it when the little voice made points that seemed almost true. Because they _weren't _true. They couldn't be.

Right?

Nah. Everyone still liked me.

Hopefully.

Maybe?

Did they? Spike _did_ tear everything up. What would stop him from doing so again? That had to be in the back of their minds when they looked at Adam's sling. Or at me.

I locked eyes with my reflection in the mirror.

It wasn't like I didn't _look_ like a demon. I mean, I had _fangs_, for crying out loud! I didn't think I could look more vicious between the teeth and torn ear.

Maybe Yahn had the right idea? Maybe I wasn't safe anymore?

Hold on a second: This was _crazy. _ The stupid little voice was just getting to me; nothing more. No one was bothered by my demonic half. It hadn't been a problem in the short time I've actually spent at home since I first changed.

_I tried to tell you,_ my voice said ominously, _but you are obviously too stubborn to listen. No, you'll have to learn the hard way, won't you?_

I growled out loud at that, pinning my ears again. _Like I said earlier: You're full of shit._

I swore that I could hear the voice laughing as I turned on my heel and left the bathroom, my jaw set in aggravation. I was fine. Everyone else was fine.

Everything was _fine._

We'd get through this like we did everything else. It wasn't like Spike didn't rampage before.

Now, if only we could unleash Spike on Krane somehow.

I smiled to myself, imagining the possibilities. Unfortunately, I was a little too busy imagining to watch where the hell I was going and ended up running into someone as I turned into the hallway.

More specifically, I ran into Douglas. He was just _everywhere_ that night, wasn't he? At least Oly had abandoned her perch on his shoulder for something more entertaining.

"_There_ you are!" He caught one of my shoulders and turned me around, gently pushing me in the direction he was headed. "You're too good at disappearing. Stop that."

"Isn't disappearing a good thing?" I shot back, tilting my head as we walked together. "I mean, you're like a freaking human vanishing act."

He grinned at that. "Smartass. Anyways, you wanted to talk about something earlier? I'm guessing it's about that voice in your head, right?"

The tip of my tail started to twitch repeatedly. "I really want that thing gone."

Douglas frowned thoughtfully. "I bet, but here's the thing: I don't know if there's a way to get rid of it. I mean, you could take medicine, but you'd be all kinds of…." He trailed off, looking for a word.

"Lethargic?" I supplied.

"There we go: Lethargic," he echoed. "It'd be hard to think as clearly."

"Yeah, let's not do that," I responded, lowering my ears. Thinking clearly was a good thing.

"Why are you only bringing this up now, anyways?" Douglas asked. "You haven't really expressed the desire to have your little voice gone before."

I shrugged as casually as I could manage. "No real reason."

Douglas caught my wing, gently tugging me to a stop in the hallway and turning me to face him. "You don't do things for no reason. What has it been saying?"

Two choices: Lie and get caught – because Douglas was like a human lie detector, since he was so good at it himself – or just sugarcoat it a bit. I didn't want to tell him outright what was going on. I mean, I didn't want to sound like a whiny little bitch. _My voice says that you guys don't like me!_

See how distastefully juvenile that sounded?

So I decided to go for door number two and sugarcoat it. "It's just been encouraging some ideas that aren't setting well with me. Well, more so than it usually does."

"Since Spike popped out earlier? Because you didn't seem to have this problem yesterday."

After a second, I nodded.

He finally let go of my wing and leaned against the wall, his arms crossed and his expression thoughtful. "You do know that wasn't your fault, right?"

I nodded instantly. Perhaps too quickly, actually, because he raised an eyebrow.

"Chase, it wasn't your fault," he said firmly. "No one blames you." He paused before correcting himself. "Well, Yahn does, but he's always been a bit protective."

Yahn was over 13,000 years old. He would be intelligent enough to recognize a threat. But I nodded anyways.

"And no matter what that little voice says," he went on, tapping his temple a couple of times, "we'll never blame you for it. Hell, even _Adam_ doesn't blame you. And he's….What's the polite way of saying that someone is an idiot?"

I rolled my eyes. "He's not an idiot. He just doesn't think things through. Besides, I didn't see him stopping Yahn earlier!" I blurted out before I could stop myself. The next thing I knew, my mouth was running on autopilot. "I mean, he let Yahn drive me back without saying a word. What if he wanted it to happen? What if he's scared of me now?" I suddenly gasped, my eyes widening. "What if he _hates_ me? I mean, I would too, if Spike had broken my arm. And then Bree had a silver ring on. I mean, what if it wasn't an accident? What if she's scared, too? Who's next? Is Tasha going to throw one of her necklaces at me if I get too close, or -"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Douglas interrupted, taking hold of my shoulders. "Take it easy. Is that what your little voice is telling you?"

Reluctantly, I nodded.

"It's full of shit," he said.

I smiled slightly. "I told it that."

"Listen to me," Douglas went on. "If you don't let it, it won't have the power to make you think or feel anything you don't want to. It's mind over matter; you have to ignore it. More than that, you have to ignore it because you know it's _wrong._ Aren't you a super-genius?"

I nodded again.

"Then _why_ are you letting some stupid little voice tell you that you're wrong?"

I started lashing my tail in anger at the idea of my voice trying to outwit me. "I'm not going to."

"Damn right, you're not," Douglas supported. "Who is it to tell you what to do?"

"A little nuisance that needs to get the hell out of my way," I hissed, swept up in Douglas' enthusiastic speech.

"That's the spirit!" Douglas patted my shoulder. "Now, want to go stare at Krane staying put in Italy? Because it's boring when I stare at it by myself."

"Why not?" I answered. As Douglas let go of me and started walking again, I fell in step with him. "I wonder if – were we to poke his dot on the screen – he would feel it. Maybe he'd be all annoyed because it feels like someone's poking him, but he can't see anybody."

Douglas snorted with laughter. "Probably not. But it's fun to think about."

I nodded as we entered his room. I flicked on the light as he approached the computer and shook the mouse a bit to get the computer out of standby mode.

And, just like that, my heart sank and bile rose in my throat. Although I already knew the answer, I clung to false hope and simply had to ask for confirmation. "Douglas…that isn't blocked, is it?"

Douglas stared at the sentence on the screen that screamed about how we lost the signal, his face growing pale. "His signal isn't blocked. It's _gone._ He deactivated it."

"So he could be anywhere, and we have no way of tracking him?" Sue me; the shock of the situation was making me ask obvious questions.

Douglas nodded tightly.

"So…back to square one, then?"

Douglas was holding the mouse so tightly that his knuckles began to turn white. "Looks that way."

Well, that was just great. A psychopath was on the loose, and we had no way to keep tabs on him. He could have been anywhere at that point.

Maybe even in our backyard!

His location was unknowable to us. And I loathed not knowing.

"So now what?" I found myself asking.

Douglas sighed heavily. "There's only one thing we can do, really."

I nodded solemnly. First, tell everyone that Krane was now a face among millions; totally untraceable.

And then, we had to wait for him to come to us.

Talk about sitting ducks.

* * *

**So, who thinks they know when Krane's going to show up?**

**Who thinks they know what'll happen next?**

**Is it you?**

**If it is, then okay. xD But I won't tell you. You'll just have to read.**

**So feel free to review. Or don't. You know I don't care.**

**And enjoy.**

***Bows and exits***


	6. Chapter 6 - Who The Hell?

**Welcome to Chapter Six.**

**Remember how the last one was filler?**

**A lot of this one is, too. But not all of it.**

**So there you go. Good things come to those who wait.**

**So thanks to all my readers and reviewers who are sticking around through all this filler. I know, filler isn't fun. But it leads to fun things, so yay!**

**AllAmericanSlurp:**** Okay, here's the deal: Mr. Davenport tried to make a ray gun that restored Chase to his normal size, but it didn't work. It only took the ability to grow a quarter-inch from reviews away. So Douglas hit him over the head with a brick so hard that he shrunk down again….**

**It took him a couple of hours to wake up…**

**Moonlit:**** "Yes, it ****_can_**** get the fuck out!"**

**RissA15****: "Sweety, your army had us locked in the same room for weeks now. Zara, take her out!"**

**DisneyXDGirl:**** "Oh, you wanna go? Let's go! I'll kick you so hard that –"**

**"Oly, quit your shit!"**

**"You're lucky Master likes you."**

**Gg180000:**** What a douche! Who would stand someone up for bowling?! He truly is evil!**

**DarkestKing:**** Krane might. Krane might.**

**Mia-Teresa-Davenport:**** "I wasn't…you were in my...What the hell?!"**

**"Chase, women are always right. Just drop it."**

**"But Douglas, she's –"**

**"****_Right._**** Let it go."**

**So, who wants to read this? Mr. Davenport?**

**"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."**

* * *

_"Mishaps are like knives that either serve us or cut us as we grasp them by the blade or the handle."_

**James Russell Lowell**

* * *

_"I'm the master of distractions. A couple of hand gestures and BAM! I'll pull the underwear clean off your butt."_

**Si Robertson**

* * *

**Chapter Six - Who The Hell?!  
**

**_Leo_**

Mr. Davenport and Douglas were flipping out.

Lots of frantic typing and running around the Lab had filled the last four hours as they tried to locate the bane of their existence: Krane. It was stressful just watching them work. Leo was watching them with Ysthry perched on his shoulder, trying to stay calm, since he had been banned from helping after he spilled water on the keyboard. Chase and Yahn were staring at each other with their tails twitching, adding an uncomfortable vibe to the situation. Adam and Leo were playing blackjack, keeping an eye on the two while Oly was trying to start the fight by pushing Chase's leg, encouraging him to move closer to Adam. Tasha and Bree had escaped the tension by moving upstairs to make snacks.

Hey, it was midnight, they had missed dinner, and everyone was obviously going to be awake for several more hours. The household was too worked up to actually sleep. Krane could crash through the house with another golem or call up Joraed again. Who knew what the psycho would do next?

Yahn growled as Oly successfully shoved Chase a few inches closer to Adam. Mr. Davenport – who was passing behind Chase – thumped Oly behind her ears without stopping. She rubbed behind her ear and growled. "Your brother is an ass, Master."

"Shut the hell up, Oly," Douglas drawled absently.

Tasha – who was carrying a tray of sandwiches through the tunnel with Bree carrying glasses of lemonade behind her – popped Douglas behind the head. "Language."

Douglas glared at her. "Donnie, your wife is abusive," he whined.

"I didn't see a thing," Mr. Davenport answered, smiling mischievously.

Douglas muttered something undoubtedly obscene, but he returned his attention to the cyber desk.

Tasha and Bree set their respective trays on the table between Leo and Adam. Yahn gave Chase a pointed look before leaping onto the table next to Adam, who had taken a sandwich from the tray with a smile. Adam tore off a piece – an ordeal to watch, since Adam could only do it with one hand – and handed it to Yahn, who happily stuffed it into his beak. In the course of a few seconds, everyone had taken a sandwich and drink except for Chase, who actually couldn't get near the table without Yahn growling. Finally, just as Leo got up to take the snacks to Chase, said half-demon suddenly hissed, "This is ridiculous." He marched over to the table with his ears pinned. When Yahn snarled at him, Chase picked the imp up by the tail and growled, "I'm stronger than you, runt_. _Try me." He then dropped Yahn on the floor and victoriously took his prize: A sandwich and lemonade.

Across the room, Douglas started laughing. "I was wondering when you would get around to doing that."

Chase grinned triumphantly as he bit into the sandwich.

After a moment, Tasha asked, "Any luck?"

The mood turned tense again as everyone frowned. "He's gone," Mr. Davenport answered.

Leo sighed. "So…all we can do is wait for him to show up?"

Douglas nodded and rubbed his eyes. "Like a bunch of fangirls waiting outside of Alanis Morissette's hotel."

"Who?" Bree asked. Leo nodded and pointed at Bree in silent agreement. Who the hell was Alanis Morissette?

"Singer from the nineties," Mr. Davenport answered.

"Remind me to make you guys listen to everything she ever sang," Douglas said.

Tasha crossed her arms. "I don't really like her songs."

"Old people music doesn't sound fun, anyways," Adam added.

Leo nodded again, laying out a couple of cards on the table. An ace and a ten. He grinned and jumped to his feet excitedly. "Woohoo, twenty-one! Blackjack!"

Adam sighed laid down his cards. A five and a six. He drew another one – a seven – and another one – a five. He sighed again. "Twenty – three."

"Yay! I win!" Leo cheered, scooping up his cards as Adam gathered his.

Bree took the deck and started shuffling. "Want a dealer so that you aren't playing against each other?"

Adam shrugged. "Why not?"

In the background, Mr. Davenport shut the cyber desk down. "Glad _someone_ is having fun tonight."

Oly jumped onto the table, rolling her eyes. "Please. This is a distraction. I bet they're screaming on the inside. See, you two fight –" here, she pointed at Mr. Davenport and Douglas – "she cooks-" she pointed at Tasha – "these two are busy doing their own thing-" she gestured at Yahn and Chase – "and these three distract themselves with pointless gambling." She swept her tail around to indicate Adam, Bree, and Leo himself.

While she was technically right, Leo didn't want to admit it out loud.

"We don't fight," Mr. Davenport protested.

"Oh, yes, we do," Douglas corrected.

Mr. Davenport glared at Douglas. "No, we _don't."_

"Are you really going to fight about fighting?" Bree asked, rolling her eyes.

"No," Mr. Davenport growled.

"Really? Because we were about to," Douglas pointed out irritably.

"Okay, let's everyone tone it the fuck down," Chase growled loudly, earning a stern word from Tasha. "Now listen: Krane is out there, and we can't do anything about it. Until he shows himself again, we won't know where he is. Therefore, since it's late, we can't accomplish anything at the moment, and a couple of fights are obviously going to break out if this keeps up –" he pointedly avoided looking at Yahn, who was glaring at Chase – "I kind of think we should just go to bed and start again in the morning. Anyone else think this is a good idea?"

Leo wondered briefly when Chase's leader senses kicked in. Think about it: A teenager, being able to read the room and determine the most prudent move? It was strange. But he _had_ been trained for it throughout his entire life, so Chase being able to take charge in a crisis wasn't so unusual. It wasn't the first time, actually.

Wait; why was this strange again?

Leo rubbed his eyes. He needed to sleep. It was effecting his cognitive abilities.

Across the room, everyone started to nod. "Tomorrow," Mr. Davenport agreed quietly.

* * *

_"Sleep is such a luxury, which I can't afford."_

**Robin Sikarwar**

* * *

_"I like to think that I've got determination, and I'm fiercely protective of the people I love."_

**Andrew Lincoln**

* * *

**_Chase_**

Oly had decided to guard me for some reason.

Douglas didn't order it, but that was probably because she had taken it upon herself before he could.

It was kind of comforting, even if I didn't want to admit it. With Krane out there, being alone in a dark room at night wasn't exactly my idea of a peaceful night. So when Oly decided to curl up beside me like a cat, I was relieved. Nothing like an imp to bite whoever decided to take me in the night, right?

Because I was a great kidnapping target. Why? I rocked. That was why. I mean, how many of you would kidnap me, right?

Well, guess who else would try to kidnap me?

Krane.

Well, not quite true. I imagined that he would just cut my throat in my sleep.

With that in mind, I didn't sleep well. Even with Oly, I couldn't turn off my thoughts.

Sometimes being a super-genius wasn't that great.

So, after a while of trying to sleep, I finally gave up any false hope of sleeping. I sat up with a sigh, glancing at the full moon through my window. How anyone else in the house was sleeping was beyond me. I sure as hell couldn't. I pinned my ears and got out of bed, my tail flicking back and forth repeatedly. It was crazy that I couldn't relax. Krane wouldn't try anything immediately. He would wait until we weren't expecting it. At least, that was what I would do. But Krane and I didn't think on the same tangent.

Wait! Wait, wait, wait! Hold the fuck _up._ Did something just dart across the yard?!

My breath caught in my throat as I stared at the yard, my eyes darting between shadows and light. Were my eyes just playing tricks on me? Was I just paranoid? Minutes passed, and I still saw nothing. Did I just see a stray cat or an owl or something?

Yeah. That was probably it.

"What are you staring at, Half-Breed?"

I jumped and whipped around, half-expecting to be jumped when Oly spoke. She stretched a bit before jumping off of the bed and scurrying over to me, climbing onto the windowsill. "Is something fun going on out there?"

I returned my attention to the yard, patting Oly on the head. "It's nothing," I answered, frowning. It had to be nothing, right? There was nothing else going on out there.

"Then who's that?" Oly pointed.

I looked where she was indicating. It was just a tree's shadow. Nothing important, really. I pinned my ears. "I don't see anything."

"Check the planes, dumbass," she growled.

Oh, right. I could do that. Duh. I shook my head hard to clear it and let my vision shift through the nine planes I could see.

There it was, on plane two.

It looked like a person, but…_not._ Much too small to be Krane, though, so definitely not as alarming as it should have been. However, I hesitated to call it a shadow. It was dark and all, but the outline seemed to glow. In fact, it glowed more predominantly as each plane passed.

What the hell was going on?

Oh well. If it wasn't Krane, it was a common thief. The oddness of that shadow was the least of my concerns. "It's not Krane, so Eddy will get rid of him."

"Get rid of who?" Eddy asked, popping up on the screen in my room.

"The random shadow guy down there," I answered, pointing at the window.

"Is the kitty scared of a little shadow?" Eddy asked in a mocking voice.

I pinned my ears and hissed. "Just get rid of him before I deactivate you."

A sudden spray of water caught both Oly and I by surprise, drenching us. "Bad kitty!" However, Eddy popped off of the screen. Seconds later, the shadow was sent flying across the yard by a stunning laser. However, instead of being…well, _stunned,_ the guy just got up and dusted himself off.

Damn it. "Think we should help him, Oly?" I asked with a sigh.

"_You_ should," she answered. "_I'll_ go get Master. Maybe he still has that gun laying around."

As Oly jumped to the floor and scurried out the door. I sighed and opened the window, climbing onto the frame before jumping out, my wings flapping wildly as I plummeted. About ten feet from the ground, I caught a draft and started ascending instead, my wings beating as I rose high above the yard. When I was over the shadow, I growled, my fingers glowing white as I shot a bolt of energy at it.

And let me tell you, I hit that fucker. I mean, I just _nailed_ him. Dust and grass went flying as the bolt tore into the ground, engulfing the glowing shadow. I was uncomfortably aware that I had just killed someone, but I would worry about that later. At that moment, the dust was clearing and lights were coming on in the mansion.

And the shadow was _just fine. _He was just getting up casually!

What in the flying fuck?!

Confused, I shot a few more at him. How rude of him not to just be incinerated!

When the dust cleared the second time, I discovered that I had made a crater.

And that asshole shadow was climbing out of it!

I started flying circles over his head, evaluating my next move. Meanwhile, he started running towards the fence at an inhuman speed. It made no sense. Was he a demon? Because demons would survive my attack. But, were he a demon, his real form would show on the planes.

Did some humans have a natural resilience to demonic attacks?

_Like hell they do, _my voice hissed. _You should try harder._

I pinned my ears and growled as the guy climbed the fence and vanished into the neighborhood. Sighing, I angled my wings and arced back towards the house just as the front door opened.

Way to be late to the party, douchnozzles.

I pulled my wings in a bit and dropped down, spreading them out and flapping rapidly to land in front of the door.

Mr. Davenport and Douglas slid to a stop in front of me, their eyes wild and protective. Behind them, Oly and Yahn were watching as tigers, looking ready to claw something up.

Guard tigers. Nice touch.

Douglas cocked his .9mm pistol. "What's going on?"

I perked my ears at them, eyeing Mr. Davenport's weapon of choice – a random lamp – and answered, "He's gone. It wasn't Krane, but it was very strange."

Douglas and Mr. Davenport lowered their weapons, Douglas actually opening the action and sliding the clip out of his pistol.

Oly nudged her way between them, her striped tail lashing. "Strange how?"

"I would feel better discussing this inside," I answered. "Oh, and Mr. Davenport? The yard has a crater in it now."

Mr. Davenport's eyes widened. "A _crater?"_

Sensing impending lectures, I decided to save myself. "Is this the time to worry about your landscaping?" I declared as dramatically as I could. I pointed at my chest. "_I _drove off a kidnapping-rapist-murderer. I think I deserve a medal, good sir."

The incredulous look Mr. Davenport gave me was _priceless._ Douglas, on the other hand, grinned. "Where's an Oscar when you need one?" He nudged Mr. Davenport. "This kid has talent."

I purred proudly before Mr. Davenport found his voice. "Get in the house," he hissed between clenched teeth. "_Now."_

Great. I saved the family, and I _still_ got in trouble for it.

You were _welcome. _Ingrate.

* * *

**What in the hell was up with that?!**

**Who decided to glow in the Davenport's yard?**

**Guess you'll have to keep reading.**

**:D**

**So feel free to review. Or don't. I don't care. xD**

**And enjoy.**

***Bows and exits***


	7. Chapter 7 - Fight, Fight, Fight!

**Okay, so to kick off Chapter Seven – wait, Krane?! What the fuck!? Why are you here?**

**"Have you ****_seen_**** that mob outside?"**

**...Get the fuck out of here!**

**"Fine, I'm leaving."**

**Oh, and take Chase to those fangirls, too. That way, you can escape and we'll still have a story.**

**"What?! You're going to hand me over to those touchy-feely child molesters?!"**

**Yes. If they're distracted by you, the rest of us can escape. Take one for the team, man.**

**"I hate my job. :("**

**"Don't be sacrificing Chase to those lunatics!"**

**Douglas, don't –**

**….Did you just push Krane outside?**

**"Oops?"**

**"Yay! I get to stay un-touched!"**

**Son of a bitch.**

**Anyways, thank you to my reviewers and readers. :3 Although you may want to start clearing out of Chaseville down there. I'm planning to nuke it.**

**Moonlit:**** Yay, an extra guard!**

**Gg180000:**** "My bad."**

**Mia-Teresa-Davenport:**** "Ooh, can you rip this Leo to shreds, too? And let go of me? I like my ribs unbroken."**

**"Douglas, what happened to girls are always right?"**

**"Shut the hell up, Chase. Smartassed little punk."**

**DisneyXDGirl:**** "I am a fan of strong-willed individuals sometimes. Bite me."**

**RissA15:**** "Zara, shoot her already!"**

**Chase, it's hard to hit a moving target! I've got this. It's just gonna take a minute.**

**UnknownForNow: I know; Chase changed quite a bit. But the way I imagine it, he spent three months being homeless. He either had to get loud, impulsive and vicious, or suffer. As for what he did to Yahn, he was just frustrated and showing superiority. He's more powerful than Yahn, and both of them know it. He just wanted to remind Yahn in a way that he wouldn't forget soon. :3 He probably didn't handle it as well as he could have, but he was having a bad day. Much like Douglas was when he decided to blow up the first Lab.**

**Anyways, who wants to solve some mysteries today? Adam?**

**"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."**

* * *

_"Never make a companion equal to a brother."_

** Hesiod**

* * *

_"Some other faculty than the intellect is necessary for the apprehension of reality."_

**Henri Bergson**

* * *

**Chapter Seven – Fight, Fight, Fight!**

**_Chase_**

Grounded.

I protected the family, and I got grounded for it.

How endlessly upsetting.

I supposed the five-foot- deep crater in the yard that radiated magical energy like crazy since I used magic to create it _might_ have been avoidable, but still!

It might have had something to do with Adam falling into it the next morning, though. He was not happy about it.

However, being grounded wasn't the most important thing at the moment. There was a glowing shadow in the yard last night, and no one knew who – or _what –_ it was. Even Oly and Yahn were baffled. They had never heard of something so obviously human that so obviously wasn't. It was the strangest thing any of us had ever heard of, and it had no explanation.

I liked explanations. A lot.

So I had to find one.

By pacing back and forth across the Lab, my ears pinned and tail lashing while Adam – for some reason – decided to watch.

What human could survive being incinerated? Just _how?_ Was the glowing a form of magic shield someone discovered? Probably not; shields weren't mobile. Unless someone found a way to mobilize it, that was. However, humans had thousands of years to discover that. Why was it just found now?

It made no sense.

And the glowing: It only showed on the planes. It was a solid indication of demonic influence. And only demons could survive my energy bolts. So was the guy really a demon, and I just couldn't see enough planes to crack his disguise? Or was he some kind of demonic hybrid?

More importantly, someone was out there that – for some reason – tried to break into our home last night.

Would he come back? Was he working for Krane? If this was going to be a common occurrence – if Krane _had_ somehow created a human-demon hybrid – then when would someone come back?

Wait; _I_ was half-demon. Was I the only one anymore?

This made me freeze midstride. "No way…."

Adam frowned and sat up in his chair. " What?"

I turned to him, my ears perked. "You remember how I told you that the guy last night glowed? What if he was half-demonic, too?"

Adam furrowed his eyebrows. "So? _You're_ half-demon. What's the big deal?"

He was right; what was the big deal?

Wait…stupid Charmers and their stupid voices.

I sighed and sat down in the chair beside his. "The big deal is that a possible half-demon was trying to break in last night."

"But Yahn doesn't say anything about you glowing," Adam mused thoughtfully. "Maybe it was just a regular demon?"

I shook my head. "No." After a second, I sighed again. "Yes. Maybe? I don't know." I rubbed my eyes, frustrated. "I don't know what happened last night."

Adam nodded slowly, just watching me.

I lowered my ears again in shame. "I'm sorry. I usually know what's going on, but this time…." I clapped my hand down on my knee loudly. "I got nothin'."

"You can't know everything all the time, you know."

I glance sideways at Adam. "But I'm supposed to be a _super-genius –"_

"So is Krane," Adam interrupted. "He's tried to kill us about three times now, and he's failed each time. What does that say?"

That made a lot of sense.

Wait, did it?

Actually, yes. Yes, it did. If Krane couldn't succeed in what should have been an easy task for him, then maybe being a super-genius didn't make him all-knowing?

Which meant that I wasn't expected to be, either.

Maybe Adam's simplistic view of the world was more beneficial than it seemed at first glance? He had something figured out that we didn't; he was happy all the damned time.

I smiled at him and nodded. "You _might_ be on to something."

Adam grinned at me proudly.

Speaking of being on to something – wait, that segue made no sense, so ignore it - I suddenly noticed that I hadn't been growled at the whole time I had been next to Adam. I looked around. "Where's Yahn?"

Adam shrugged with his good shoulder. "I think he and Oly are helping Douglas with something."

"Oh," I responded. After several moments of silence, I looked across the room and asked what had been in the back of my mind since yesterday. "Adam…are you mad at me?"

Adam stared at me for a second. Then, without warning, he burst out laughing. "_Hell_ no! Why would you think that?"

I was taken aback by his reaction. "Because I broke your arm –"

"Spike did," he cut me off.

"And because Yahn keeps trying to protect you," I went on. I sank down in the chair. "I didn't exactly see you stopping him."

"Because it's funny to watch you two glare at each other," he answered, laughing some more. "You're like two kittens when they play-fight."

"Wait," I growled, sitting up. "You just like to watch us _fight?_" When Adam nodded, grinning, I didn't know whether to smack him for putting me through all that self-doubt or hug him because I was so relieved. "So….You're not scared of me?"

"_You?"_ He snorted. "You're too small to be scary."

Normally, I would be offended. However, I just started laughing. "You're an ass. You know that?"

He reached across himself with his good arm and rubbed at my ears. "I know."

For once, I had no problem with someone touching my ears.

* * *

_"Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back."_

**Eugene O'Neill **

* * *

_"When honor and the Law no longer stand on the same side of the line, how do we choose[?]"_

**Anne Bishop, ****_Heir to the Shadows_**

* * *

**_Bree_**

"Chase tore this place _up!"_

Bree rolled her eyes at Leo's declaration. However, as she stood at the rim of the crater Chase had created the night before, she had to agree. It appeared larger in the daylight than it had last night.

Mr. Davenport sighed heavily. "Leo, stop admiring this thing." He shook his head, looking at the hole. "I'll have to get someone to fix it tomorrow."

"Why tomorrow?" Bree asked, frowning.

"Because I already have someone coming to fix the carpet and replace the couch today," Mr. Davenport explained. "What's next? Is Douglas going to blow up the Lab again?"

"He probably won't blow up the Lab again," Leo reassured. After a second, he frowned thoughtfully. "Well…."

Bree elbowed Leo when Mr. Davenport's eyes widened. "He won't blow up the Lab," she said, grinning nervously.

Mr. Davenport still glanced back at the mansion nervously.

"So..." Bree began after a moment. "Any idea on who this 'glowing guy' might be?" She used her fingers to draw quotations in the air.

"Random thief," Leo started. "Maybe an alien? Or a new serial killer hired by Krane?" He clapped his hands together once. "Maybe Chase is just crazy!"

"Chase isn't crazy," Mr. Davenport defended.

Bree rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the hole. Nothing showed up on the planes. It was just a stupid hole Chase accidently dug. So why did it catch her attention? It felt like she was missing something huge, but she had no idea what. It was probably nothing, but she wanted to get a closer look, anyways. Without a word, she stepped over the side of the crater and slid gracefully down to the bottom.

"Bree, what are you doing?" Mr. Davenport huffed. "Get out of there! You'll get dirt everywhere."

"And it might be full of nuclear-magic radiation," Leo added.

"Nuclear-magic radiation?" Mr. Davenport parroted. "Seriously, Leo?"

"It could happen," Leo defended, crossing his arms.

"I'll be _fine, _Leo," Bree assured, rolling her eyes. "I'm just looking." She crouched down, narrowing her eyes at the dirt. Nothing was amiss. So why did it bother her?

A loud yelp sounded and a lot of dirt was suddenly sliding down the side of the crater, covering her shoes completely. She sighed as Leo popped up beside her.

"Guys, get out of there!" Mr. Davenport huffed.

"It's fine, Big D'," Leo said, crouching beside Bree.

"It's _not_ fine. We don't need any more broken bones!"

While Mr. Davenport had a point, Bree just _had_ to make sure that nothing was going on.

Leo started to move soil around with his hands. "I wonder if anything will grow here again?"

At the scientific question, Mr. Davenport was suddenly less concerned with safety. "Oh, maybe it will all grow back as _super plants!_"

Bree sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She sometimes wondered if Tasha was the only real parent in the house. Mr. Davenport was more of a teenager trapped in a grown man's body sometimes, and it wasn't like Douglas was any better.

They were brothers, after all.

Maybe that was where Chase and Adam got it?

"Hey, Bree?"

Bree was snapped from her thoughts by Leo, who was carefully picking up something he had uncovered in the moist soil. "Is this yours?"

Leo held up what looked like a necklace with a broken chain, but it was hard to tell with all the dirt on it. The only thing she was sure of was that it wasn't hers. She shook her head, taking it in her hands. Whatever it was, it was evidence. She climbed out of the crater – Mr. Davenport took her hand and helped pull her up before he helped Leo – and started for the house, Mr. Davenport and Leo falling in step with her. Surprisingly, both were quiet the entire way. Maybe they were too busy speculating on what the thing was?

Whatever the reason for their silence, it was nice.

In the house, however, was a different story.

Upon opening the door, Bree was greeted by the sound of Tasha's angry voice. "Why would you even encourage her to do something like that?!"

Said out-of-context sentence was followed by the sight of Douglas rolling his eyes while Yahn snickered. Meanwhile, Oly was trying to get her head out of the wall by scratching at it, beating her wings angrily.

"What happened?" Mr. Davenport asked, his eyes widening with incredulous anger.

"Your wife has no sense of humor," Douglas declared. "How are you even married to her?"

Tasha glared at him, her hands on her hips. "Oly thought it would be a good idea to jump from the rafters to the counter. She didn't make it, and now there's a hole in the wall."

"Yeah, but we can't hear Oly talking until she gets out of there," Douglas pointed out, gesturing at the struggling imp.

Mr. Davenport sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Just…show them the thing before my head explodes," he hissed out between his teeth.

"What thing?" Yahn asked, tilting his head.

Eyeing Oly with some amusement, Bree walked to the kitchen and handed the necklace-thingy to Douglas. He took it with a frown and walked over to the kitchen sink. As he started to wash the dirt off, he asked, "Where did you find this?"

"In that crater Chase made," Leo answered.

He nodded before suddenly dropping the newly-cleaned object into the sink, obviously surprised by something. Almost immediately, he turned off the water and scooped it up again before it could go down the sink. "Anyone recognize this?" he asked, holding it up for the room to see.

Bree's eyes widened. Even with the chain that held it broken, she easily recognized Azazel's Bane. The red gemstone in the center of the gold, rune-covered amulet glimmered in the light as Douglas lowered it.

Yahn gently took it from Douglas, turning it over in his hands. "No wonder Chase couldn't hurt that man last night."

"Where did the guy get Azazel's Bane?" Leo asked. "Did he steal it from you?"

Douglas shook his head. "I gave it to the Council before leaving the United States." He crossed his arms and frowned.

"So how did that guy have it last night?" Tasha asked.

"The only people that could possibly access it were Council members," Yahn said. "The important thing isn't that he managed to get it. The important thing is that he is either in the Council or working for someone who is."

Wait…so that meant that….

Solemnly, Douglas voiced what everyone seemed to realize at the same time. "Krane may have infiltrated the Summoner's Council."

* * *

**Dun dun duuuuuuuuuun!**

**Krane with a hand in the Council. How screwed is everyone?**

**At least Azazel's Bane is with the Davenport's again, right?**

**I had a feeling that most of you knew exactly what was dug out of that crater. xD**

**Anyways, feel free to review. Or don't. You know the drill.**

**And enjoy.**

***Bows and exits***


	8. Chapter 8 - Schrödinger's Cat

**"Zara, the leader has a bullet proof suit!"**

**Leo, many a man have Kevlar just lying around. However, it will prove useless to have when I hit their Achilles' Heel!**

**"…Is that why the nuclear missile you had me build has the words 'Achilles' Heel' written on it?"**

** Exactly, Douglas. Get that thing ready to go. Everyone else, get your radiation suits on and go to the bunker. We're nuking these fangirls.**

**Meanwhile, I'd like to thank the readers and reviewers. As a treat, those of you who ****_aren't_**** in the fangirl army get to watch the army explode before your very eyes. What a treat, right?**

**RissA15:**** I leave cliffies because – if you killed the author – you would never know how the story would end. It would eat you alive forever.**

**DisneyXDGirl:**** "But I like Oly. :("**

**"Sorry. Chase likes Oly. Gotta leave her alone."**

**AllAmericanSlurp:**** Watch as, before your very eyes, it ****_happens._**

**Gg180000:**** I think we should test that, so I'm going to pull on his tail. Be right back.**

**….**

**I have a black eye now. **

**Moonlit:**** Because I am a bitch, and, as such, it brings me great joy to mess with your heads. :P**

**Mia-Teresa-Davenport:**** "Might as well use this situation to my advantage then. Hey, other me: I'm stealing your girlfriend. Ha ha ha ha ha!"**

**Shinxshinx1595:**** Gotta watch out for those murderer-rapist-kidnappers. They're sly ones.**

**So, who wants to do this? Oly?**

**"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."**

**"Hey, Zara: We're ready to launch this thing."**

**Let 'er rip, Douglas!**

**_Missile launch in _****10.**

**9**

**8**

**7**

**6**

**5**

* * *

_""Time spent arguing is, oddly enough, almost never wasted."_

**Christopher Hitchens, ****_Letters to a Young Contrarian_**

* * *

_"We are not really spying; we're just satisfying our curiosity."_

**Paul Christopher**

* * *

**Chapter Eight - Schrödinger's Cat**

**_Chase_**

"Yes! I'm still awesome!" I cheered, throwing my hands up in the air and grinning excitedly.

Well, Bree later used the word "maniacally," but I liked "excitedly." I imagined that the various machinery of the Lab in the background gave me a mad scientist kind of look.

And _why_ was I so excited? Because Azazel's Bane had protected the guy I had driven away. He was still a mysterious glowing bastard, but at least he wasn't invincible.

One question was answered. I felt slightly better about that.

However, instead of joining me in my revelry, I was met with less-than-enthusiastic reactions from my family. Tasha and Adam just stared, Bree slowly backed away from me, Mr. Davenport sighed and rubbed his eyes, and Leo and Douglas smacked one of my shoulders each. Yahn was perched on Adam's good shoulder, shaking his head as he frowned while Ysthry hissed distastefully from the floor at Leo's feet. Oly was nowhere to be found, so she had no reaction for me to see.

Where was she, anyways?

Oh well. She was probably fine.

I dropped my arms to my sides before rubbing at the shoulder Douglas had hit. He hadn't hurt me, but I liked to think that it bothered him a bit if I acted like it did.

It gnawed at his conscience like a little termite.

Who was I kidding? Douglas' conscience had disappeared a _long _time ago. Well, it mostly had. There was still a small sliver of it swimming around in his soul somewhere. He'd done one too many less-than-heartless things for anything else to be true.

He just kind of ignored it most of the time, I guessed. It was probably pretty quiet.

Anyways, the rest of the situation got worse from there. Azazel's Bane was only accessible by the Summoner's Council. So was the Council after us now? And to what end? It wasn't like we were high-profile targets to them.

I mean, I was _me_, and I _still_ couldn't think of a motive.

Maybe Krane _had_ corrupted a few Summoners, like everyone seemed to think. However, I had a few problems with this: Why would he use the Council when he was basically all-powerful? Instead of sending giant-assed glow worms to kill us in the night, why didn't he just do it himself? What could he possibly gain from that?

"Quick question: Why would Krane need the Council?" Tasha asked after a moment.

Thank you, Tasha! Way to ask my questions for me.

"Who knows?" Mr. Davenport responded. "Who knows why he does anything?"

"Might be all the politicians in the Council," Douglas proposed. "Just a guess."

I nodded slowly, crossing my arms. "Makes sense. Why work alone when you can have a hand in the various levels of government? It _would_ make things easier if some politicians could make the law turn a blind eye."

"Why the hell won't any politicians cover _my_ crimes up?" Douglas muttered.

Tasha just sighed. Huh, no lecture about language this time. Maybe she was getting used to it?

No way. She probably let it slide because it was his birthday.

Actually, it wasn't.

Got it: She let it slide because it _wasn't _his birthday.

Shut up. I wanted an explanation, so I was going with that one.

"So Krane is being shielded by a member of the Summoner's Council," Leo said, bringing me out of my random thoughts.

"That's crazy, though," Bree piped up.

"Seriously," Adam supported. "Who in their right mind would help Krane. He's nuts."

"It doesn't matter why," Mr. Davenport responded. "It matters that it's happening."

"Theoretically," Yahn added suddenly. "We have no proof that this is Krane's doing. Just Azazel's Bane and a hunch. Maybe it's just a Councilor with an axe to grind?"

"Against us?" I raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Maybe," Ysthry said. "Or a hired thief? You _do _have The Arm of Raziel. It doesn't matter how many times you claim that it's just a replica that Half-Breed uses as a chew toy. Someone is going to believe you have the real one, even if you didn't. So maybe someone wanted to steal it for themselves."

"I don't chew on it," I growled indignantly, pinning my ears. I occasionally wanted to - quite a few imps were in there - but I ignored it. Besides, stealing it from Mr. Davenport's and Tasha's room - Tasha had decided to keep an eye on it after Mr. Davenport's and Douglas' failed attempt at activating it to make sure no one tried it again - just to chew on it seemed like a waste of time and effort.

_ You could be doing something productive, like eating the faces off of random civilians._

Okay, _gross. _I wrinkled my nose and curled my lip. It drew some stares, but no one asked about it.

"It has to be Krane," Leo argued.

"Call it a hunch, but I think it's Krane, too," Douglas agreed.

"Seriously; who else would it be?" Tasha pursed her lips. "That psycho is coming after us with the Council."

"But Yahn and Ysthry are right," Mr. Davenport argued. "It could be nothing."

"Besides, anyone who either works with Krane now or has in the past is an idiot," Adam added.

"Watch it," Douglas growled, pointing at Adam. I smirked at his slight offense.

"It could have been anybody," I decided, bringing the topic back around to what looked like the beginning of a fun debate. "Right, Bree?"

"It's both," she answered, quietly playing with the glass bead she wore around her wrist.

We all stared at her, confused. "What?" Mr. Davenport asked.

Bree sighed. "It's Schrödinger's cat, isn't it? Think about it: It could either involve Krane or not. However, since we have no way of knowing which one, both states exist until we find out which one it is and collapse the entire equation."

I recalled telling her about Schrödinger's cat about a year ago. I didn't think she was actually paying attention, though. Someone listened when I talked?! It was unheard of!

Well, that wasn't exactly fair. They just didn't listen when they weren't interested in what I had to say. I guessed that Bree found Schrödinger's psychological experiment with cats and boxes interesting. More importantly, she had applied it to a situation when it hadn't even crossed my mind. Not that it would help much, but it made it a bit easier to wrap my mind around. "Both," I finally agreed, nodding slowly.

One by one, everyone began to voice agreements. Even Adam seemed to understand what it was, which was a miracle in itself.

"So what do we do, then?" Ysthry asked, a bit of her acidic saliva dripping on the floor and creating a small burn. How Leo tolerated that on his shoulder, I would never know. I guessed that she was extra careful around him.

"We get ready for both," Mr. Davenport answered. "We ramp up the security system, for starters."

"And we need to rub elbows with the Council, too," Douglas added. "Some spying never killed anyone."

_Unless they were caught. Those were good punishments._

I saw a lovely image of Douglas being tied to four different horses that ran in four different directions. Way to go, little voice; I almost puked. Swallowing down the threatening bile, I pinned my ears. "So, who's doing what? Who's going to fight off murderous raping kidnappers, and who's going to cozy up to the Summoner's Council?"

"Let's split it down logical lines," Douglas answered. "Summoners to the Council, everyone else to home security."

"Leo is _not_ going to spy on the Council," Tasha protested immediately. "He could get hurt."

"But he's our ticket in!" Douglas argued. "Councilors _love_ young Summoners. They're more eager to open up to Leo because they want to mentor him."

"Please, Mom?" Leo begged beside me. "I'm their ticket in."

"I'll guard him," I offered. Why, you ask? Because Douglas was right. Everyone wanted a prodigy. It was extremely flattering.

After a moment, Tasha sighed heavily. "If something goes wrong, you'll have something much more dangerous to worry about than Krane," she warned, glaring at Douglas.

He threw up his hands innocently. "He'll be _fine._ He just needs some practice on how to act, and we're good to go."

Wait, why did I have a nagging feeling that said practice was going to involve me?

"Okay," Mr. Davenport said, clapping his hands together once. "Adam, Chase, Douglas, and Leo are going to infiltrate the Summoner's Council. Meanwhile, Bree, Tasha and I will think of ways to make the house safer. Everybody on the same page?" When we nodded, he threw a hand straight out in front of him. "All right! Team Davenport on three!"

No one added their hands to the pile he was trying to create. Instead, we just stared at him.

Mr. Davenport dropped his hand, embarrassed. "Let's just do this."

"You are all _assholes!"_

I pinned my ears as Oly's voice reverberated around the tunnel as she left it, her eyes blazing furiously. She had several scratches and was obviously pissed about _something,_ so I reacted as logically as I could.

I started laughing. Really, really hard.

Why, you ask?

Because, around her neck, was an inch-wide, randomly –shaped collar made totally of the living room wall.

I didn't know what happened, but I imagined that it was worth it just to see what I was now.

Oops; I meant, poor Oly. What meanies let her put her head through the wall and left her there?

"You're paying for that," Mr. Davenport muttered, pointing at Douglas.

Douglas grinned and patted my shoulder. "I can fix it for free. Or, rather, Chase can. Can't you?"

I could hang a picture over it, I supposed. Whatever got it done faster so that we could go after the Council. Nodding, I picked Oly up as she huffed and sat on my feet.

"When did you learn to fix walls?" Leo asked curiously as I examined Oly's new fashion accessory in an attempt to get it off of her.

I glanced sideways at him. "Who cares?"

"I do, actually," Adam said, raising his hand.

"We built a freaking schoolhouse in Spain," Douglas answered sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Does it really matter where he picked it up from?"

Mr. Davenport looked ready to ask something else, but Eddy popped up on the screen. "There's a guy at the gate claiming to have a couch. Can I shoot lasers at him?"

"No!" Mr. Davenport yelped immediately. "Just let him in."

"Killjoy," Eddy muttered before disappearing.

"Guess training is going to be held off?" I asked, perking my ears hopefully. It wasn't every day that a new couch showed up.

"Just until they leave." With that, Mr. Davenport exited the Lab via the tunnel to greet the man upstairs.

"'Just until they leave,'" Douglas imitated, making his voice high-pitched and mocking. He then snorted, his voice returning to normal. "All telling me what to do…."

"I'm Douglas, and my older brother keeps telling me what to do," Bree said with a smirk, her voice a dead ringer for Douglas' as she used her vocal manipulation. "I like to ignore people when they tell me to do things because I want to fit in with the cool kids."

Everyone but Douglas burst out laughing. Even Bree lost it there, unable to continue.

Douglas – instead of using his barbed tongue to lash back at her – simply pulled a pen out of his pocket and picked up a piece of paper, muttering the words as if he wasn't joking as he wrote them. "Note to self: Disable Bree's vocal manipulation."

* * *

**4**

**3**

**2**

**1**

**0**

**_Missile Launching._**

**Woohoo! Everyone cover your ears! It's gonna be….**

**Not…taking…off….**

**Hey! I thought you said this thing was working, Douglas!**

**"I'll see what's wrong. Keep your underwear on, woman. ****_Damn."_**

**Some explosives expert ****_he_**** is.**

**O_o Son of a bitch just threw a screwdriver at my head!**

**Anyways, Leo's going to go undercover! Woohoo! How many people think he's going to mess up? I could probably name a couple of you off the top of my head. xD**

**Anywho, feel free to review. Or don't. I get to shoot a nuclear missile either way. :P**

**When it actually ****_works._**

**Until then, enjoy.**

***Bows and exits***


	9. Chapter 9 - You Can't Act!

**Chapter Nine! Woot! **

**It's mainly filler. Kind of bored me. But it's getting something somewhere, and that's what matters, right?**

**Oh, and Douglas fixed the missile! Quick question: Will titanium protect them from nuclear missiles?**

**"LOL no. Titanium melts like steel. xD Unless it's several feet of solid lead, it won't protect squat. Wait, who is that? Is that ****_Perry?"_**

**Douglas? Where in the hell are you going?! Come shoot this thing off!**

**Damn it.**

**While I hunt him down, please enjoy these messages from our sponsors.**

**Thank you to all my reviewers and readers. And the people who seem to be with us against this army. If this siege doesn't end soon, we'll need to abandon the building and move to the safe house where no one will get to see us. :3**

**"But then we won't get to see the fans. :("**

**That's the way it goes, Chase. War destroys.**

**Shinxshinx1595:**** "Thanks for the faith. :("**

**Leo, you know no one's rooting for you. Sorry, man.**

**AllAmericanSlurp****: Ysthry means nothing. Ysthry, Olyanaeci and Ajiiyahn are all just random jumbles of letters I pulled from my ass. :3 And, just for fun: Ysthry is pronounced Ease-Three.**

**Maeph93:**** I get really bored and really random. Now, as for not understanding, allow me to direct you to the disclaimer you should have come across in chapter one.**

**"…If you didn't read ****_Hybrid_**** or its sequel ****_Hunter,_**** don't expect to know what's going on. Also, don't expect me to explain it, either. You were warned…"**

**^ See why I put this in there, people? It's for your own sanity. Thanks for viewing, though. :3**

**Mia-Teresa-Davenport:**** "I love how other me isn't doing a thing about his girl flirting with someone else. xD" *Changes into a cat* "Hug me now!"**

**"Chase is going to get us killed, isn't he?"**

**Yes, Adam. Chase is going to get us killed.**

**Gg180000:**** The answer is written into this chapter. :3**

**RissA15:**** "Zara, we should negotiate a truce with these people."**

**Tasha, you negotiate that. Meanwhile, the rest of us will be packing to abandon this joint and regroup at the safe house. We'll plot our next move from there.**

**Moonlit:**** "But…I'm so sad. :("**

**You'll be fine, Leo.**

**UnknownForNow:**** Well, the reason Leo's so important is explained here. As for the experiment mentioned in the last chapter, it gets extremely confusing when someone reads into it. It goes into quantum mechanics like crazy. :P So I'll explain the premise I was using. Inside a box was a sample of decaying radioactive material, a Geiger counter, a cat, and a vial of poison. When the material decayed fully, the poison was released, killing the cat inside the box. Now, until someone opened the box, it was unknowable if the cat was alive or dead. Therefore, hypothetically, it existed in a superposition of both states until the box was opened, collapsing the function. :3**

**DisneyXDGirl:**** If you can shoot that missile off, then come light it up. xD**

**j. liz. 8****: "Ha ha, yes! My image is spreading! As for my wings, I like the feathers. However, since this thing is text-based and has no pictures, you can imagine anything you want. Free Internet, right?"**

**Adam, you got some –**

**"Creepy, obsessed love. I got it. Hi, person. :3 Love you, too."**

**Envy not my skill. Envy that of Jodi Picoult.**

**And if you are a creepy stalker now, don't worry. You're among friends here. :3**

**So, who wants to kick this off? Leo?**

**"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."**

* * *

_"I know very little about acting. I'm just an incredibly gifted faker."_

**Robert Downey, Jr.**

* * *

_"No pressure, no diamonds."_

**Thomas Carlyle**

* * *

**Chapter Nine – You Can't Act!**

**_Douglas_**

"Convince me you're not a spy," Douglas said, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrow at Leo.

Leo instantly messed it up. The kid had a dozen and one tells, but so did everyone else. Most were subtle and easily overlooked. One, however, was more noticeable than the rest: He didn't speak fluidly. It was totally unnatural. His emotional tone was all over the charts - mainly centering around nervous and shaky - and he often spoke too slow or too fast. That could be improved on, of course. It wasn't the end of the world. Douglas figured that putting a dog's shock collar around Leo's wrist that went off whenever he messed up would fix that problem fast. The other problem was that he appeared to be bad at choosing words when he was trying to talk.

It was weird; Douglas had watched Leo operate fairly well under pressure before. And there wasn't even pressure at the moment! What was the hang up?

"Hi," Leo was saying in a voice full of obviously-false enthusiasm. "Um...I'm Leo. So...how about Azazel's Bane? Anyone steal it lately?"

Douglas deadpanned at Leo. "What the hell is _wrong_ with you?"

"I'm not a spy, if that's what you're thinking," Leo defended instantly, obviously beginning to freak out.

"This guy seems legit," Adam decided, leaning back in his chair. Yahn had decided to take a nap on the new couch with Tasha, Donnie and Leo to clear his head from Adam's charmer influence. It was strange to see one without the other. However, that wasn't the issue at the moment.

The issue was Leo's poor acting skills.

_Why me? _Douglas thought, running a hand over his face in frustration. How did he get stuck with _this_ kid for one of the most important parts of the plan? He wasn't worried about Adam and Chase; they would spend their time cozying up to the demons that were summoned by the Councilors. If anyone had eyes and ears everywhere, it was demonic servants. Summoners tended to ignore them when talking, so demons often learned valuable details not meant for anyone to hear. However, as demons were mischievous little buggers, their words wasn't always reliable. As for the two speaking to Summoners, it probably wouldn't work out. They thought Chase was just a lowly djinni – a demon to be disdained – and they were usually not all that fond of Charmers.

Anyone that demons liked had to be someone untrustworthy, right? Because demons weren't usually fond of people.

So that left Leo and Douglas to confirm these things. Douglas could only learn so much, though. Many Councilors were loathe to let anyone like Douglas into their trusted circle of friends. He had a reputation of being a man of unknowable loyalties and intentions.

That meant that Leo as the main link in the information chain.

See, Leo was not only young; he already had a very basic education on summoning. And Councilors would _love_ that. Nothing like an apprentice who you didn't have to teach every little thing to. He would likely be drawn into the plans of whoever was teaching him, meaning that he was the best bet for getting someone to openly divulge something useful as they tried to turn him into miniature copies of themselves. Also, Leo had never been presented as a prospective Summoner before. New blood always stirred interest.

Therefore, Leo had to learn how to act.

Yet he _sucked_ at it.

"For the record, Leo," Douglas began, "I would shoot you for spying at this point. Just to keep my secrets safe. You can't act to save your life."

Leo frowned, furrowing his brow. "That's just because you already know I'm a spy. I can act!"

Douglas raised an eyebrow. He noticed Chase walking into the Lab, holding the circle of wall that Oly had been freed from. Oly was on his heels, looking relieved to be rid of the thing. Time for a humiliating lesson in listening. He leaned very close to Leo, his voice barely above a whisper so that Chase couldn't hear him….hopefully. When someone had bionic hearing, who knew what they could and couldn't hear? "Prove it. Convince Chase that you're terrified of him."

Leo was suddenly appalled. "I can't do that!" he hissed lowly. "It'll wreck his self-esteem."

Douglas smirked a bit. "Then admit that you can't act."

After an obvious internal debate, Leo sighed heavily as his pride won out. "I'm going to tell him that you made me do it, though," he huffed.

"I bet five dollars that you can't do it," Adam piped up from his seat, grinning.

"You're on," Leo growled.

"On for what? Is there a bet?" Chase looked thoughtful. He was most likely trying to think of a way to swing the odds into his favor. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Leo said, whirling around to face Chase with a deer-in-the-headlights kind of expression.

Chase perked his ears as Oly climbed onto his shoulder. "It didn't sound like nothing."

"It wasn't important," Leo insisted. "Get off my back."

Frowning, Chase took a step forward. "Just tell me already. You're going to crack eventually. You're _you._"

Leo took a step back, suddenly appearing nervous. "It's _nothing."_

Chase growled, frustrated. He started walking towards Leo, his ears pinned and his tail lashing a bit. He cut a menacing sight, to be honest. "For Christ's sake, Leo –"

Leo suddenly turned on his heel – his expression one of sheer terror - and bolted through the tunnel, screaming, "Don't eat me, Hellcat! I'm too young to die!"

And, for a split second, Douglas wondered if Leo actually _was_ afraid of Chase.

More impressively, _Chase_ totally bought it. His whole demeanor seemed to drop as a troubled look crossed his face as he stared at the spot where Leo had vanished from sight. He clutched the little wall-collar he held so hard that his knuckles began to turn white and cracks began to form in the material.

So Leo _could_ act.

What the hell happened earlier, then?

As Chase started to leave, Douglas stopped him. "Hold up, Hellcat," he began, using the name Leo had inadvertently called Chase seconds ago. It was catchy. "Leo isn't afraid of you. I was trying to prove that he couldn't act. Little asshole proved me wrong."

"So he _isn't_ afraid of me?" Chase asked slowly, perking up a bit.

"No, but I'm out five dollars," Adam sighed.

"Who cares if he is?" Oly growled. "I love scaring people."

"You love all kinds of crap," Chase countered. He began to count them off on his fingers. "Stealing, vandalism, arson, murder –"

"Because it's fun," Oly asserted, crossing her arms.

Douglas rolled his eyes and looked down the tunnel, wondering when Leo would come back. It was strange that he could suddenly act. Of course, money was at stake, and gambling always tended to add pressure.

So he should have done _worse, _right?

Maybe the kid was better under pressure? Having something to lose was a hell of a motivator.

Chase nudged Douglas with his elbow. "Is…is Leo going to stay upstairs, or…?"

Douglas shrugged. There was no indication that Leo was about to come back.

"Way to commit, Leo," Adam mused. "Think we should go find him?"

After a second of deliberation, Douglas shook his head. "He'll be back eventually."

"So how are you going to get him to act well all the time?" Oly asked, tilting her head.

"Easy. If he messes up, we might end up in trouble. I'm going to say that we'll get shot or something. Life or death should get him to step up," Douglas explained. Hey, it worked with a bet. Why not a threat against his family?

"Someone wants to shoot us?" Adam asked seriously, sitting up with his eyes wide.

"Not unless we mess this up," Chase answered. "Then, they might."

"Just Krane, I imagine," Douglas mused. "The Council might be pissed, but they wouldn't shoot us. They would feed us to an afrit or something."

"Reassuring," Oly muttered sarcastically.

Chase finally loosened his death grip on the little ring of wall he held, causing a sudden question to pop into Douglas' mind. "Is the hole still in the wall?"

"There's a lovely painting Mr. Davenport had in the storage area of his art vault of the shadow cast by an artist painting their own shadow at twilight," Chase answered, smirking. "I decided that everyone should be able to look at it. So it's in the living room now."

"Sounds lovely," Douglas commented cheekily.

Another minute or so passed in silence as they waited for Leo to return. Finally, Adam sighed and stood up. "I'm going to go get Leo." Without another word, he left down the tunnel to find the wayward kid.

Oly opened her mouth to speak only to be interrupted by a scream of horror from Adam. "_Leo!_ Somebody, _help!"_

A sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach heralded the next several seconds as he and Chase bolted into the tunnel. What was wrong?! Did someone successfully break in? Would they systematically pick them all off, one-by-one?

He slid around the corner on Chase's tail, mentally preparing himself for the worst possible scenarios that were about to play out. Various scenes of mutilation clogged his mind's eye, almost blinding him to the actual thing.

And, when he saw what was going on, Douglas was both confused and infuriated.

Leo and Adam both started cracking up from their hiding place around the corner. "You should've seen the looks on your faces!" Leo chortled. "I told you I could act."

Wordlessly, Chase snapped the ring of wall he had into two pieces and threw one piece each at Leo and Adam, pegging them both in the chest. "That wasn't funny, assholes."

Leo allowed the piece that hit him to fall to the floor. "Chill, Chase. It was just a joke."

"Seriously; lighten up," Adam added.

Chase crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. Meanwhile, Oly gave them a thumbs up. "Nicely done."

Douglas tilted his head. "Why is it that you can act when you have something to lose, but suck when you don't?"

Leo shrugged. "Practice, I guess."

Adam nodded. "You should hear him lie his way out of trouble. He's good at it."

Douglas nodded slowly. That was a useful skill to have. "We'll be able to pull this off if you can just do that at the Council." Then, his expression darkened. "Because if you don't, and we get caught, you would have killed this entire family. Understand? I'm not even kidding."

Both Adam and Leo went quiet, paling as they nodded.

Oly barked out a laugh. "No pressure, guys."

Douglas narrowed his eyes and leaned forward, loudly whispering, "_So_ much pressure."

Heh, Leo looked like he was going to piss himself. If that didn't work, nothing would.

* * *

**So Leo might not mess it up after all.**

**Of course, I can again name a few of you who think otherwise. Who knows? You might be right.**

**On the bright side, we get to find out what security measures Team Donald is trying to come up with next time.  
**

**In the meantime, feel free to review. Or don't. You know I don't care. :3**

**And enjoy.**

***Bows and exits***


	10. Chapter 10 - With Lasers!

**Testing, testing. **

**Hello? Are we coming in? We are? Good.**

**This is Zara, reporting from the safe house we were forced to flee to. The fangirl army may have overrun the old place by now, but fear not! We're safe and sound in a secure location, and we ensured that no one followed us.**

**And we're not telling you where it is! We don't want that army to find us again!**

**"****_Sweet freedom!"_**

**Yes, Bree. Sweet freedom!**

**Anyways, thanks to all you readers and reviewers out there. :3 Hiding behind your computer screens, reading about Demon Chase in all his awesomeness. He loves ya'll.**

**"I do!"**

**See?**

**Shinxshinx1595:**** O.o Calm down there.**

**Moonlit:**** "Who's Reid?"**

**"Who cares, Chase? I'd own his ass. xD"**

**"How to you know that, Douglas? Reid might be better than you."**

**"O_o Blasphemy!"**

**Mia-Teresa-Davenport:**** "Don't make Douglas demonstrate skyclad up in here! o_O"**

**J. Liz. 8:**** "They laid off the feathers once the fangirl army moved in. :3"**

**AllAmericanSlurp:**** That was literally only the third day after I posted the chapter before. Patience, woman! O.o**

**DisneyXDGirl:**** "Yay! Someone likes me! :3 Finally!"**

**Gg180000:**** Couldn't have said it better myself.**

**RissA15:**** Douglas wanted me to point out just before we left that crucifying the store owner was a little extreme. O.o**

**UnknownForNow:**** And now Leo is $5 richer. :3 As for the poor kitties, there are several psychological experiments that are far more twisted morally. Little Albert Experiment, The Monster Study, The Well of Despair (conducted by Harry Harlow), Stanford Prison Experiment, and the Milgram Experiment are a few horrifying ones.**

**Personally, I find the Stanford Prison Experiment to be the worst, in my opinion. Of course, that's all it is: An opinion.**

**Anyways, this is just a bit of filler, but it's here, right? So who wants to do this? Ysthry?**

**"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."**

* * *

_"You'll find boredom where there is the absence of a good idea."_

**Earl Nightingale**

* * *

_"No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it."_

**H.E. Luccock**

* * *

**Chapter Ten – With Lasers!**

**_Bree_**

The meeting was going nowhere.

Literally everything that anybody came up with was shot down instantly. It looked like the only one getting anywhere was Yahn, who had decided to curl up in Mr. Davenport's lap and sleep for a while. It was cute to watch Mr. Davenport rubbing Yahn's back with a fond expression, like he was reliving a lost part of his childhood. Maybe he was; who knew? Yahn had stayed hidden, but he had been there the whole time Mr. Davenport was growing up.

As for herself, Bree was sitting on the end of the new couch, Tasha between her and Davenport. And she was _bored._ Why couldn't she get the cool spy mission again?

Oh, right: Because she didn't want to summon demons.

There was nothing to be done about it now, though, so she was discussing home security like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

Which it wasn't.

Because Mr. Davenport apparently had a hundred-and-one different ways to say that he wanted to put lasers up all over the place. It was at the core of everything he suggested.

Let's put up posts with cameras on them…that shoot _lasers!_

Maybe robot sentries…with _lasers!_

Let's hire a security guard…armed with freaking _lasers!_

Bree was starting to think that Mr. Davenport had an irrational obsession with lasers.

Tasha, however, was awesome enough to shut each and every one of those ideas down with a single sentence. "Do you really want lasers with Leo around?"

With how accident-prone Leo tended to be, her logic was sound.

So that left a few other ideas. Bree's personal favorite was putting up an electric fence. Why not shock the crap out of some intruders? Tasha's favorite? Security guards _without_ lasers.

And both of those were shot down, too. Why? Douglas would likely spend time throwing things at the electric fence – most likely Leo – and no one felt like they could really trust a security guard.

After the whole Marcus thing, strangers weren't really something they were endlessly fond of.

She wondered briefly if Douglas ever missed Marcus. She would have to ask later.

So, while they were debating this, Bree found herself obsessively rubbing Ysthry's head with two fingers, since the dragon-imp was so small. For some reason, Ysthry had decided to abandon Leo's shoulder for a moment to chill on the back of the couch. Bree had been rather reluctant to touch her at first, but now, she was glad that she did. Ysthry's scales were rough and dry – a nice surprise, since the whole "slimy reptile" idea had planted itself in Bree's mind many years ago – and the little imp could actually purr, if one counted a throaty growl. She was like a tiny reptilian cat. It was cute. No wonder Leo kept Ysthry around; the imp grew on you.

"Oh, how about this!" Mr. Davenport suddenly started. "We –"

"No lasers," Tasha interrupted.

Mr. Davenport sighed and leaned back against the couch. "Never mind, then."

"What about a magic shield?" Ysthry suggested, yawning. It was strange hearing such a deep-sounding feminine voice coming from a creature that was smaller than Yahn.

"What do magic shields do?" Mr. Davenport asked, frowning.

"They keep unwanted people out," Ysthry explained, rolling her head so that Bree was rubbing her neck. "If you don't want someone coming through the shield, it'll kill them. Easy."

"No," Tasha immediately said. "My mother sometimes comes by unannounced. We don't need her killed."

"Then a magic trap that shoots fireballs at people?" Ysthry tried.

"_No,"_ Mr. Davenport said this time.

"What about that fence thing this one was talking about?" Ysthry flicked her tongue at Bree. "Only, instead of electricity, it has a spell that makes people who have less-than-benevolent intentions physically ill until they leave?" The two stingers on the end of her split-tipped tail clicked together in excitement as she thought of something else. "Oh, I know: _Both_ electricity and a spell!"

"Well…the only one that can cast a spell is Douglas and myself, but I don't think mine is up that alley," Mr. Davenport slowly started. "And I don't trust Douglas to –"

"Wait," Tasha threw a hand up. "_You_ can cast spells?"

"Used to," Mr. Davenport admitted. "It wasn't anywhere near as flashy as demons and their magic, but it worked. It was more of an elaborate ritual to ask the Gods to let certain things happen, like granting luck or peace or something like that. But I haven't done one of those in about twenty years."

"Is this part of that old religion you used to be a part of?" Bree asked, tilting her head. It was hard to picture Mr. Davenport doing anything that involved begging a god to make things happen.

"Yep," Mr. Davenport answered. "Anyways, I was saying that I don't really trust Douglas to put a spell on anything. Who knows how far overboard he'll go with it? We might end up with people spontaneously combusting."

"Okay, so why does Douglas have to be the one to cast the spell?" Tasha asked.

Ysthry answered her question. "Summoners know how to do it. Demons provide the energy for it, Summoners tell it what to do."

"They why couldn't Leo or Adam do it?" Bree pointed out.

"Does Master even know how?" Ysthry asked, tilting her head.

"He has a few days to learn," Mr. Davenport said. "That's the best idea we've had, and Adam and Leo will probably make it happen with the least amount of problems. But we need to get the wire run through the fence first."

Bree nodded slowly. "But if Douglas teaches them how to do it, then won't we be in the same situation?"

"I could help them."

Yahn's voice made everyone jump a bit. He sat up in Mr. Davenport's lap, yawning.

"What would _you_ know about it?" Bree found herself asking. If Summoners were needed to do magic, then what could a demon possibly do to teach it?

Yahn shot her a look. "I'm 13,576 years old. Just because I can't do something doesn't mean I don't know how it works. I taught them how to summon a bit, didn't I?"

Everyone nodded, acknowledging the truth in his words. "Okay," Mr. Davenport began. "I'll get someone out here to run the wire for the fence. Until then, though, what are we going to do? I think we should get –"

"_No lasers!"_ Tasha huffed.

"Buzz-kill," Mr. Davenport huffed, leaning back into the couch with his arms crossed childishly.

* * *

_"The most effective way to deal with any manifestation of sibling rivalry among small children is to issue them with light sabers."_

**Wrongcards**

* * *

_"The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward."_

**Steve Maraboli****_, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience_**

* * *

**_Chase_**

Ever been extremely bored?

Everyone has, so I bet you have, too.

Well, while Douglas was putting Adam and Leo through their acting paces – just to be sure – Oly and I were bored out of our minds. Well, I was. Oly was trying to get into the little box Bree kept her rhinestone-studded items in now. Fortunately, my fingerprint lock was having none of it.

Take that, Oly! I rocked!

It was as she was perched on top of the box – as if that would help – that Mr. Davenport and Bree came downstairs, Ysthry and Yahn in tow.

I was wondering where Ysthry was hiding. Question has been answered.

"Get off of there," Bree hissed at Oly.

"Make me," Oly hissed. It was almost menacing. However, the effect was lost when I picked her up and dropped her unceremoniously on the table beside the box. She muttered a few things – very inappropriate yet oddly hilarious things – and dusted herself off before sticking her tongue out at me. I rolled my eyes. She could be so dramatic sometimes.

In the middle of the Lab, the impromptu theater troupe stopped mid-scene to watch what was going on. I had no idea what they were acting out – they had lost interest in trying to impress Summoners and had fell into medieval roles a while ago, which I didn't want to be a part of… I think Leo was actually forced to be a princess at this point or something? – but as long as they could act, I didn't care. They looked pointedly at me, which made me sigh.

Did I mention that – even though I wanted _no_ part of this – I had been assigned a part anyways?

In my most regal British accent, I announced, "Presenting the fair maiden Bree and the honored Mr. Davenport." Dropping the accent, I added, "Now stop including me!"

Douglas snorted, his character – some kind of knight-king-Robin Hood mixture – totally broken. "'Honored,'" he echoed sarcastically, using his fingers to make quotations in the air.

Mr. Davenport rolled his eyes. "Whatever you're doing down here, we want to tell you something."

"We figured out how to protect the house!" Bree took over. "Tell 'em, Yahn."

Yahn jumped down onto the table beside me. "We run an electric fence wire around the property. However, instead of it being electric, it would be magic. The spell would make anyone with harmful intentions physically sick until they left."

Douglas frowned. "So you're going to make me cast a spell?"

"Not you," Mr. Davenport snorted. "You'd probably go too far with it. So we're going to have Yahn teach Leo and Adam how to do it."

Huh; I thought Mr. Davenport had let the past go.

Apparently, Douglas had thought so, too. It was hard to pick up on, but it was there. Under his I-don't-care expression was just the slightest hint of hurt in Douglas' eyes at not being trusted with this simple task. Poor guy. It was hard to remember sometimes that he was still Mr. Davenport's younger brother. Essentially having his tendency to go way too far with things – case-in-point, the past twenty years, when he was a terrorizing anarchist who kidnapped us (all of which he was trying to live down) – thrown back in his face must have stung a bit.

However, he just nodded. "Seems like it would work."

I couldn't tell if he was trying to be mature about the situation, or if he was just having a pick-your-battles moment. Either way, it was probably a good thing that he let it slide.

Mr. Davenport, however, seemed not to notice. He just smiled at everyone. "Good. You'll probably have a couple of days before the fence is ready. So, how is _your_ half of the plan coming along?"

"The next Council meeting is tomorrow," Douglas explained. He then did something I never thought I'd see him do: He threw an arm around both Adam's and _Leo's_ shoulders. "We're more than ready for it, too."

As Mr. Davenport nodded, I found myself looking back and forth between them. It was hard to see, but it was definitely present.

At some point – probably when Mr. Davenport refused Douglas' help - this plan had turned into a pissing contest between the two.

How fun!

* * *

***Facepalm* Will they ever stop fighting?**

**Actually, they probably won't. They're them.**

**Anyways, this chapter wasn't awesome. I had to muscle my way through writer's block for some of it. But here it is.**

**So feel free to review. Or don't. :3 Do I really have to keep saying it?**

**And enjoy.**

***Bows and exits***


	11. Chapter 11 - L'eroe di Marino!

**Chapter eleven! All right.**

**Plans are put in motion here today. :3. You lucky people get to see them.**

**Speaking of plans, how's it coming along, Douglas?**

**"It's coming."**

**"Hey! Why do you only acknowledge Douglas for this war?"**

**Because he's the only experienced warmonger out of you bitches, Chase.**

**Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing. Insert something witty here because I'm too tired to think of anything for you.**

**DarkestKing: Dafuq just happened?! :P Hello again.**

**Mia-Teresa-Davenport: "Fine. Your loss. :P"**

**Moonlit: That sounds like a fun word. Lol zugzwang.**

**Shinxshinx1595: I'm not all that worried.**

**DisneyXDGirl: The entire Vietnam War was fought against hiding enemies. And they won. What say you now? :P We couldn't win that battle. It was eight - nine, with you - against hundreds. We need to fall back and regroup. Plan our next move. We aren't acting out of cowardice; we're acting out of the acknowledgement that losing one battle doesn't mean losing the war.**

**Gg180000: I don't think lotion helps with scales. XD**

**RissA15: I thought I established back in Hybrid that the accident that turned Chase half-demonic destroyed his GPS? And let your geniuses come. We have a mine field. Those were expensive and I want to see someone blow up, damn it!**

**AllAmericanSlurp: ...I actually want to tell you guys something about that, but not now. Soon, Dearies. Soon.**

**So who wants to do this? Griajar?**

**"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."**

* * *

_"Misunderstood! It is a right fool's word. Is it so bad then to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood."_

**Ralph Waldo Emerson, _Self-Reliance and Other Essays_**

* * *

_"I'm very specific and ambitious in plotting out my goals and never take no for an answer - so it's not like things just fall in my lap."_

**Darren Criss**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven - L'eroe di Marino!**

_**Adam**_

He didn't know why the Council made their demons stay in the background. They were pretty smart; wouldn't including them be better?

Not that he really had much of a say himself. The second that they figured out that Adam was more of a Charmer than a Summoner, he was standing in the background with the creatures, holding Yahn. Chase was leaning against the wall beside him, his ears swiveling back and forth as he listened to the Summoners talk amongst themselves. Oly was perched on his shoulder, dozing off.

As for himself, Adam didn't pay much attention. He heard the occasional snippet of conversation - mainly when Douglas introduced Leo and everyone instantly wanted his attention. Various teenaged Summoners-in-training were sitting smugly in their chairs, convinced already that their trainer was the best and that Leo was only getting the leftovers.

However, Douglas had a plan to reduce the odds of that happening.

Adam didn't really pay attention to what it was, though. That part of the plan was Leo's and Douglas' concern, barring the one thing Adam had to do to kick it off. As far as Adam was concerned, his job was much better. Demons were more interesting than most people, anyways. They had _way _more stories to tell and quirks to find.

And they liked him. A lot. No one had an explanation for that, but Adam didn't really care.

Beside him, Chase, Oly and a djinni that looked like a mix between a cat and a dog started snickering, obviously lost in their own private conversation. Adam watched them curiously for a moment. It must have been nice for Chase to have a foot in the door when it came to relating with demons.

Adam kind of wished that he had that. Instead, where Chase could guess at a demon's intentions, Adam was forced to wonder about them blindly.

Just because demons liked him didn't mean that he really _knew_ them.

Yahn suddenly tugged at Adam's shirt and pointed at a charcoal-gray ibex that had an extra horn growing from the tip of its nose and spikes down its back. "That's the one," Yahn whispered.

Adam nodded and - as discreetly as he could - edged along the wall towards the imp. The ibex watched Adam warily, shaking its head to show of its more-than-dangerous horns.

Deciding to stay a bit back, Adam stopped a few feet away from the creature. "Griajar, right?" he asked quietly.

The ibex instantly changed its attitude at the sound of Adam's voice. "Your voice is as lovely as a church bell," it - no, _she_ - cooed.

"And your fur is very soft," Adam replied smoothly, rubbing Griajar's shoulder.

Why was it that he couldn't flirt with girls, but could woo a demon without a second thought? Where was the justice in that?

"Listen, Gria'," Adam began after a second. "I need a favor."

"Sure."

Adam was slightly taken aback. He had at least expected a tit-for-tat exchange of favors. However, if it would be that easy, then it would be that easy. "See, I have a friend named 'Leo' over there." He gestured at Leo, who was being forced to listen to a Summoner go on and on regarding...well, regarding _something_. When Griajar nodded, Adam continued. "He's _really_ excited to be here, and he wants the best mentor he can get. Since your Master seems to listen to your _excellent_ judgement skills when it comes to apprentices, could you persuade him to accept my friend?" Oddly enough, the Summoner in question tended to rely on Griajar to make judgements regarding students. Where Douglas had gotten that information was beyond Adam, but he knew better than to ask.

Griajar nodded instantly. "I'd _love_ to!"

Adam smiled to himself. This spying thing was proving easier than anticipated.

* * *

_"When children are doing nothing, they are doing mischief."_

**Henry Fielding**

* * *

_"For Satan always finds some mischief still for idle hands to do."_

**Isaac Watts**

* * *

_**Chase**_

"Look at him: Have you ever seen anyone look so ridiculous?"

I followed the finger of my new friend - a cat-dog looking guy named Draut - to see his Master.

The man _did_ look ridiculous. Hey, asshole: Your suit was two sizes too small!

"He looks like he's going to pop out of that thing any second," Oly snickered.

"No kidding," I agreed quietly, flicking my ears between speaking Summoners. It was mainly boring political information, but the apparent theft of Azazel's Bane was mentioned a couple of times. For some reason, no one was overly concerned about it.

Oh well. More shiny amulet for us. Mainly because we didn't tell anyone that we had it, but that seemed like a minor detail.

After a second, Draut sighed. "This is boring as hell." Then, he suddenly gasped. "We should light something on fire!"

Wait, what?

Actually, that _did_ sound like fun.

_Then why are you waiting? Just do it! Have a little less impulse control. Live once in a while. You were_ born _to light things on fire._

Technically speaking, I was born to grow into a bitter adult who wasn't satisfied with his life. Just like the rest of America!

I shook my head. "I don't want to end up locked in a tin of rosemary for the next hundred years," I sighed. Not that Douglas would ever do that to me, but it was possible. Just ask the poor demons that were forced to stay inside tiny jars of sandalwood at the bottom of various bodies of water. Until someone opened up their prison, they would be stuck in there.

Since some were at the bottom of the ocean, they were likely stuck there forever.

Poor guys. They must have been bored out of their minds.

Oly sighed. "Buzz-kill." After a second, Oly tilted her head. "Draut? Who do you think stole Azazel's Bane?"

Draut grinned halfway, his voice barely a murmur. "One rich motherfucker. They probably sold it by now. I know _thousands_ of summoners that would love to get their hands on it. And it's not like anyone on this Council is an exception." He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Look at these fools. They all come together in the pursuit of regulating summoning, yet they spend more time on political schemes to advance themselves as an individual rather than doing what this Council was created to do."

"Ain't that just like the Man," Oly responded, shaking her head. "They preach one thing and do another."

I nodded in agreement as I rolled my weight back on one heel and turned my attention to the speaking Summoner.

"We may have discovered a new type of Circle..."

He on and on about that. How anyone stood sitting for hours at a time here was beyond me.

Oly suddenly poked my shoulder. "Hey, Half-Breed: How many dead leaves do you think we can get to stick on Master's spiked hair before he notices?"

At the mental image of Douglas flipping out when he found leaves in his "flawless" hair, I had to suppress a laugh. "We should try that when we get home."

Douglas would be pissed, but at least we'd be amused about _something _today, since the hunt for Azazel's thief had proved fruitless this go around.

I had honestly expected that, though. Why would anything be easy, right?

* * *

_"...Often this quiet, humble heroism is the greatest heroism of all..."_

**Wilferd A. Peterson**

* * *

_"The hero is commonly the simplest and obscurest of men."_

**Henry David Thoreau**

* * *

_**Leo**_

_Keep it cool, Leo. You have this._

Leo repeated that in his head like a mantra, focusing so hard on maintaining his eager apprentice act that he was barely listening to Arthur Hall speak.

He hoped no questions about his topic would come up. Summoner Hall was who he needed to impress. If anybody would be able to lead them to corruption, it would be one of the leaders of the Council itself.

However, such a rank did not come without an air of entitlement. He rarely took apprentices. And, when he did, he was very picky about who they were. It was next to impossible to get the guy's attention, but Leo had to do it.

For Narnia!

Well, for the sake of the plan. But Narnia was close enough.

At that moment, Summoner Hall was droning on about the discovery of a new Circle to hold demons . He wasn't giving away any real details about it, but he seemed eager to share that his research was going great.

Leo wanted to bang his head on the table. Why bring it up if you weren't going to talk about it?

Beside him, Douglas wrote something down and slid the paper over to Leo. With a frown, Leo tilted his head and read the note.

_You look half-dead. I warned you that this would get boring._

Leo sighed and wrote his response. _How does anyone get anything done? I haven't heard a single productive thing all day!_

Douglas smiled cheekily and wrote, _Welcome to politics and government. One step forward, ten steps back._

Growing aware of the childish nature of them passing notes, Leo smiled. _So...you said you'd get an "in" with this guy. Are you going to leave me snowed about it, or what? Wait: Does it even exist, or are you just winging it?_

Douglas rolled his eyes. _Have a little faith, kid._

Leo wanted to respond to that - something along the lines of "hell no" - when Arthur gestured right at them. "Now, before we end this today," Summoner Hall began, "I would like to hear from Summoner Davenport on his escapade with the golem in Italy." Hall grinned. "Go on: Tell us how you stopped it."

"Showtime," Douglas whispered, winking before he stood up. "Thank you, Summoner Hall," he said formally as Arthur sat down. Douglas cleared his throat and rolled his shoulders before finally beginning. "I'm sure you have all heard by now about the golem incident in Italy. I've heard many of you herald me as a hero for stopping it. Now, while I _do_ appreciate the recognition, you've got it wrong." Douglas stepped around behind Leo's chair as he continued. "I did not actually stop the golem. Although I am _infinitely_ great-" here, Leo rolled his eyes- "I was knocked out by falling debris."

_Nice cover, _Leo thought. It wouldn't do to lose The Arm of Raziel.

"As I was unconscious, I couldn't have stopped the golem. No, I'm not the one who stepped up to the plate that night." Leo jumped as Douglas' hand came down on Leo's shoulder. "_Leo Dooley_ is."

Leo felt his eyes widen as murmurs travelled suddenly through the Council. That must have been painful for Douglas to admit. Quite frankly, Leo was shocked that Douglas hadn't just taken the credit himself.

Douglas squeezed his shoulder gently as the discussion died down. "This kid," he went on, " bravely risked his life to pull the scroll from the golem's mouth before it could destroy anything else. _He_ - not I - is, as the Italian Council said, 'L'eroe di Marino': The Hero of Marino!"

Leo never heard that phrase in his life. Honestly, the only thing he remembered about the Summoners Council in Italy was Douglas flipping everybody off. However, everybody here ate it up. They started applauding.

For _him_.

Stunned, Leo froze in place.

"Stand up, kid," Douglas hissed.

Snapped into action, Leo rose from his chair, looking around the entire room. Near the wall, Chase, Adam and Yahn were clapping with the Councilors. Oly was just watching everything, rolling her eyes. Douglas started applauding beside him as Leo tried to get over the surprise.

Was this happening?

Did Douglas _seriously _just do that?

These people were recognizing _him_ as a hero?!

He honestly hadn't expected anything of the sort. He just figured that stopping the golem was something he wouldn't be acknowledged for. _Especially_ by Douglas.

And he was okay with that.

Now that it was happening - now that _he _was the hero instead of his siblings, as usual - he had no idea how to react. It was overwhelming.

So he just stood dumbly until the applause died down and Douglas directed him to sit again.

Councilor Hall stood up and smiled at Leo. "You are a hero indeed. Not many could face a golem."

Leo felt his cheeks heat up.

Hall then looked at everyone. "Is there anymore business to attend to?" At everyone's silence, he nodded. "Then I move to adjourn this meeting."

"I second the motion to adjourn this meeting," another Summoner piped up.

"All in favor?" Hall asked. He was met with a chorus of "aye." Nodding again, he declared, "Council adjourned."

As Douglas and Leo stood up, Leo found himself frowning. "That was it? He isn't going to make me his apprentice? The plan failed?"

Douglas clapped him on the back. "The plan isn't over yet. We've only gotten through step one."

Leo furrowed his brow. "Which was...?"

Douglas grinned. "Make sure that Hall knows your name."

* * *

**Phase one: Complete!**

**Douglas is a flipping genius, no? Silver-tongued bastard.**

**Anyways, feel free to review. Or don't. I don't care.**

**And enjoy.**

***Bows and exits***


	12. Chapter 12 - Remember?

**So...I think that my guinea pig is bionic...**

**I was holding him - he _insisted_ on sitting in my lap by rearing back on his hind legs and scratching at his cage bars until I picked him up - and he sneezed, shooting a little snot-rocket on my shirt.**

**He's so strange.**

**Anyways, thanks to my readers and reviewers. And that fangirl you volunteered to blow up. Someone push her into the mines already!**

**Mia-Teresa-Davenport: "Whatever, Hon'."**

**Moonlit: "But-"**

**Dude, Leo: Haters gonna hate.**

**shinxshinx1595: "See? _She _wants me to light things on fire!"**

**God damn it, Chase. _No!_**

**DisneyXDGirl: "Get those leaves outta here!"**

**AllAmericanSlurp: "God damn it, people! _Stop with the leaves!_ You're messing up my hair! D:{ "**

**gg180000: "Oh-"**

**_No!_**

**DarkestKing: After evaluating our options - and your threat to throw us to the fangirls one at a time - we've decided to hedge our bets here. Thanks, though. :3**

**UnknownForNow: Ha! I like the sound of that! Douglas Davenport: Casual Genius!**

**RissA15: Yeah! For Chase! Come on already!**

**This chapter is kind of filler again, but it moves things forward. So, who wants to do this? Hellcat?**

**"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."**

* * *

_"I'm devious, cruel, cunning and addictive."_

**Anthony Hopkins**

* * *

_"I'm pretty instinctive. I'm a quick learner."_

**Shannon Elizabeth**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve - Remember?**

_**Chase**_

Watching Bree try to build a fence was _great_.

It wasn't even a proper fence. It was just a single strand of wire that needed to be run through some holders.

And - somehow - she couldn't get it to work.

Douglas was beside himself with petty mirth. If Bree was failing, than his plan was working better than Mr. Davenport's. Not that Douglas liked seeing Bree grow more frustrated each time she ran around the property in a blur just to find that the wire was _still_ not taut.

"Didn't Mr. Davenport say that he would get someone to build this thing?" I called out as she slid to a stop to find that she had to start over _yet again_. I was leaning on the railing of the backyard's deck in the hopes of winning a bet against Douglas. Not whether or not Bree would succeed, mind you. No, our bet was how long it would take for her to give up.

I only had a few more minutes left before Douglas - who had bet that she had inherited his stubborn streak and would keep trying long beyond what I proposed - would become ten dollars richer. Therefore, I decided to try and influence her decision.

"Don't listen to him!" Douglas called, cupping his hands around his mouth to increase the volume at which his voice projected. "You can do this, princess! _I_ have faith in you!" He raised a fist in a gesture of victory to accent his point.

"Don't call me 'princess!'" Bree snapped loudly before taking off along the fence again.

"Does 'princess' piss her off?" Douglas asked, frowning.

"Yep," I confirmed. "Not sure why."

Douglas nodded. "Good to know." Then, he grinned and nudged me. "Ready to pay up, Hellcat?"

I pinned my ears. "She could stop in the next ten minutes," I growled determinedly.

Did I mention that he had taken to calling me 'Hellcat?' I guessed that he thought it fit when Leo yelled it at me two days earlier.

Speaking of Leo, he had spent his free time after the Council meeting the day before with Yahn and Adam, learning the art of performing magic using demonic energy. I know, I know: It sounded evil when put like that, but it wasn't. I promise.

Well, kind of. It depended on who was doing it.

Bree came around again and stopped before crying out in frustration. "Why isn't this _working?!_"

"Because you need to try _harder!"_ Douglas encouraged.

"Don't listen to him!" I called out. "He just wants to see how long you can run. Let the professional do it. It's why Mr. Davenport is _hiring_ the guy!"

"Listen to the lack of confidence he has," Douglas rebutted.

Bree glared at the fence for a moment before she threw her hands up in a gesture of defeat. "I can't do it."

"Don't think so negatively!" Douglas desperately encouraged as she stormed towards us. "You're _so close!_"

She climbed up the steps and stopped in front of Douglas. "I don't know how to build a fence," she growled. "I'm not wasting my time on it anymore." With that, she turned on her heel and entered the house.

After a second of silence, I checked my watch. Grinning, I held out my hand. "Three minutes to spare!"

Douglas rolled his eyes and pulled his wallet out of his pocket, opening it and handing me ten dollars. He sighed as I folded the bill and slid it in my pocket. "This is the first and _last_ bet that you'll ever win against me."

It was my turn to roll my eyes. Whatever he had to tell himself to nurse his wounded pride, I supposed. Instead of responding to his statement, I perked my ears. "Well, _that_ plan is on hold," I noted. I knew it was an obvious statement, but I wanted a segue. "And, speaking of plans...what's _our_ next move? How do we get Leo in with Hall?"

Douglas smiled halfway. "We need a demonstration of prowess. Leo's a...smart kid." Ha! Douglas almost choked on that admission. He looked like he was in physical pain. "And he learns fast. We need him to show that off somehow."

I frowned and gestured at him. "Well, _you're _the Summoner. What impresses you guys? Wearing top hats and doing elaborate musical numbers?"

Douglas crossed his arms. "As a matter of fact, we _love _that. However, that won't catch Hall's attention. He needs to demonstrate understanding of something very complicated the first time he hears it. Remember how I asked you all of those questions about your demonic half the very first time I summoned you?"

I nodded slowly. Honestly, I had forgotten about it. Now that he had reminded me, I was curious. "What did you ever do with all of that?"

"Well, I had been hired to do that research for Hall," he explained. "Didn't get paid much, but money's money. You made it easier; I was at a dead-end with regular demons. Anyway, all the answers you gave me went to him."

"So if I explained some of it to Leo," I pieced together slowly, "and he asks Hall to explain some of it, then he'll have an 'instant' understanding of everything."

"He'll show off his skill _and _his eagerness to learn," Douglas concluded.

I nodded and grinned. "Remind me never to piss you off. You'd come up with some complicated revenge scheme."

"With you?" He scoffed. "I'd just do this." He reached towards me rapidly and ran his finger over my right ear, tracing the torn tip.

I pinned my ears and hissed loudly, rubbing where he touched. "Are you kidding me?"

He grinned cheekily at me. "Nope. You have a built-in discipline system."

I glared at him, silently wishing that I wasn't so annoyed when people touched my ears.

* * *

_"There is no failure except in no longer trying."_

**Elbert Hubbard**

* * *

"_Titles are but nicknames, and every nickname is a title."_

**Thomas Paine**

* * *

_**Bree**_

"Did you finally give up?"

Bree shot Oly a look. The little imp was perched on the kitchen counter, her head tilted. With a sigh, Bree opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle of water, nodding. "Fences are _hard_." She twisted the lid off of the bottle and took a massive swig. She was tired and frustrated, having tried for an hour to make the fence work. She raised her arms and swung her elbows behind her in an attempt to loosen up her shirt, which was stuck to her skin from her sweat.

It was _disgusting_.

Oly snorted. "I told you that you couldn't do it."

Bree pointed the top of her water bottle at Oly and growled, "Listen here, you little -"

"Oly, get off the counter!"

Tasha's voice interrupted Bree as she entered the room, swatting at Oly with a magazine. Bree smirked as Oly leapt to the floor, fleeing upstairs to escape the irate Tasha.

Tasha shook her makeshift weapon at Oly one more time before she nodded at Bree. "Did you get the fence done?"

Bree shook her head. "I can't get that stupid wire to stay tight."

Tasha patted Bree's shoulder. "Let the professional build it, Hon'. It's his job."

Bree nodded. "I was just hoping to get it done as soon as possible," she sighed. "We've been waiting for two days. The guy won't even be out here for a few more days. That's _more_ than enough time for someone to break in again."

"No one broke in the first time," Tasha pointed out.

"Because Hellcat caught him first," Bree muttered.

"Is _everybody_ going to call me 'Hellcat' now?!"

Bree and Tasha looked at the deck door to see Chase standing in the doorway.

Douglas - stuck behind Chase as he blocked the doorway - poked him between the wings. "You're letting the bugs in," he groused. "I don't want to be eaten alive by insects tonight."

As Chase rolled his eyes and moved out of the way, Bree shrugged at him. Honestly, she had heard Leo and Adam referring to Chase as 'Hellcat' earlier that day. Whatever the reason for the nickname, it was extremely catchy.

Tasha sighed. "When did this 'hellcat' thing pop up?"

Visibly surprised that Tasha wasn't flipping out about the first half of the name, Douglas crossed his arms as Chase gently kicked the door shut. "Leo coined it a few nights ago. It was catchy."

"Speaking of Leo," Chase cut in, "where is he? We need to discuss something."

"He was down in the Lab earlier," Tasha answered, gesturing over her shoulder towards the elevator.

Chase nodded before he padded - yes; he was stepping so lightly that it could only be described as "padding" - to the elevator, Douglas following.

While they waited for the elevator, Bree frowned. "What do you need to talk to him about?"

"You know," Douglas answered, shrugging, "plotting random acts of violence, teaching him how to wire bombs; things like that."

Tasha shot him a severe look. "I _will_ kick you out."

Douglas winced. "Relax, lady. We're just planning our next move on the Council."

Tasha crossed her arms, rolling her weight back on one heel and frowning. "I _still _don't like him spying on the Council."

"He'll be _fine_," Chase assured as the elevator door opened. "We'll watch him." With that, he and Douglas entered the elevator and disappeared when the door closed.

Tasha sighed. "That man is going to drive me crazy," she muttered.

Bree grinned. "He keeps things interesting, though."

* * *

**How many of you forgot the first time Chase was summoned? That _wasn't _just insignificant bonding fluff. I was going places with it. xD**

**Resourceful guy, that Douglas.**

**Anywho, feel free to review. Or don't. Whatever.**

**And enjoy.**

***Bows and exits***


	13. Chapter 13 - Magic Hour

**All right, someone's going to get blown up! Let's do this!**

**"Wait!"**

**_What, _****Adam?!**

**"She's kinda pretty….Can we keep her?"**

**….Seriously?**

**"Yes."**

**Fine. Hey, Douglas? Do you know how to turn off the minefield just long enough to get her in here?**

**"Can't we just blow her up?"**

**Apparently not.**

**So, while Adam and Douglas get that solved –**

**"Hey, everybody? Mia and I are ****_not_**** going to get together!"**

**Hellcat, give me the microphone!**

**"No! Everyone, listen to me! Do not ship 'Hellia.' She has a boyfriend. xD"**

**_Give me that!_**

**Anyways, thank you, my readers and reviewers. And, to the person who is trying really hard to kick the door in, that sucker is steel. You should come back with a battering ram.**

**Mia-Teresa-Davenport:**** "I call people 'Hon'' like you call them 'Dude.' It's just slang."**

**AllAmericanSlurp:**** "You may ****_not_**** have more of my ears! Contrary to popular belief, it really hurt when Oly bit my ear off."**

**Shinxshinx1595:**** "Is that a challenge?"**

**Gg180000:**** "I wanna fangirl over things!"**

**No, Chase. War first, fangirling later.**

**DisneyXDGirl:**** "Yes."**

**DarkestKing:**** "I feel like this is a trap."**

**You think everything is a trap, Douglas. :3 We'd love to move into your castle. Thank you.**

**RissA15:**** "Oh, send another pretty fangirl for me!"**

**Chase, why would you need them to send another one? You have Oly.**

**Anyways, this chapter is kind of short, and it's not that great, but here it is.**

**Don't worry; the next chapter will be better. Anyways, who wants to kick this off? Miss Tasha?**

**"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."**

* * *

_"'… No, Douglas. That's bad. Stop it. Do you want me to get both Tashas?'_

_'"Zara already has me doing a scene with Tasha today. O_o I'm good."'_

_'…Fine. Make him suffer, Zara :3…'"_

**Mia-Teresa-Davenport and Summoner Douglas**

* * *

_"It is always dangerous to underestimate anybody."_

**Abdallah II of Jordan**

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen – Magic Hour**

**_Adam_**

As it turned out, Adam had a serious knack for magic.

He had no idea why Leo was having such a hard time with it. All he had to do was focus totally on one thing and say a series of words to make it work.

Maybe Adam had an advantage? He tended not to think about more than one thing at a time. If he did, he would think of more. And then, even more as he followed tangent thoughts. It would go on and on until he was either forgot his original thought or became so focused on finding what the ending of the thought patterns were that he zoned out completely. Everyone seemed to think that he let his mind go blank when that happened, but he didn't. He was just...well, thinking thoughts.

So, as mentioned, he tended to focus on one thing at a time. And, when doing magic, that was a big, big factor in things going right. Because the words were only catalysts to make the energy work. For example, if one wanted to start a fire, one had to focus on what they would be burning. The words said wouldn't determine what or how it would burn; just start it. Translated, the words translated as some variation of "burn," "heat," and "fire." But never anything more specific than that. If someone happened to think of something else when they were starting said fire, the wrong thing would burn.

Tricky, yes?

That was Leo's whole problem: He couldn't focus on one thing for more than a few seconds.

Speaking of Leo, he was trying to make a small ball of light in his hands. Ysthry was perched on the cyber desk, shaking her head in frustration. Yahn, however, was sitting on Leo's shoulder, transferring energy to Leo and giving advice. The problem wasn't in the words and generating light. He could make little beams, but it was all uncontrolled. It flashed a bit before sputtering out.

Leo sighed. "I'm _never_ going to get this."

"Takes a long time to master magic."

Adam looked over his shoulder to see Douglas and Chase watching from the entrance.

Leo glared at Douglas, who had been the speaker. "How long did it take _you_ to learn this?"

Douglas shrugged and stepped into the Lab while Yahn and Chase glared at each other warily, Chase keeping Douglas between himself and the protective imp. "I could do it almost immediately," Douglas answered. "But that's only because I'd been doing other kinds of magic since I was a kid. I could already focus well."

Leo sighed. "So _years,_ then?"

Douglas shook his head. "No. Just really, _really_ intense studying on concentration."

Without breaking eye-contact with Yahn, Chase frowned. "And how would one do _that?_ Stare at a wall?"

"Exactly." Douglas pointed at the wall. "Pick a little spot and stare at it. Don't think about anything but that little spot. If your mind wanders, acknowledge the thought before focusing on that little spot."

Leo stared at Douglas incredulously. "You want me to stare at a speck on the wall?"

"Until you can easily concentrate on it for about a minute straight," Douglas confirmed. "That would suffice for easy spells. Should take you a few hours. Get staring."

Leo looked skeptical, but he walked to the wall anyway, pulling a chair with him and sitting before staring intently at something. Yahn grew bored in seconds and leapt off of Leo's shoulder to land on the floor before he scurried to Adam. As Yahn climbed into Adam's lap - eyeing Chase carefully - Douglas nodded at him. "What about you?"

"He is a natural," Yahn answered for him.

Douglas and Chase both raised their eyebrows, shooting him a doubtful look.

A bit annoyed that they didn't think he could do it - and because he had an itch under his cast and _couldn't reach it_ - Adam nudged Yahn. Seeming to get the message, Yahn somehow sent a major wave of energy through Adam's entire body. With his skin tingling - much like when one's arm goes numb after one sleeps on it wrong - Adam took a second to review what words he would need before he focused wholly on Chase and Douglas. With nothing else in his mind's eye, he hissed out a few words. The excess energy vanished in a surge, leaving Adam with an almost hollow feeling as both Chase and Douglas cried out in surprise and fury, now drenched as a massive amount of water appeared from thin air over their heads and dropped on them.

Ysthry started laughing from her perch on the desk as Chase shook himself - almost like a dog - and beat his wings a few times, sending droplets of water everywhere. Douglas glared at Adam, his expression the very symbol of rage as he ran his fingers through his now-flattened hair. "You messed up my hair, asshole!"

Adam shrugged casually. They shouldn't have doubted him.

Chase shivered a bit, hugging himself. "By the way, that was cold."

"At least we know who's rigging the fence," Douglas muttered, still trying to get his hair to stand up again. "By the way, Leo: When you're done over there, Hellcat and I want to talk to you about something. No rush. We still have a few days."

Leo gave a thumbs up without turning away from the wall.

Douglas finally gave up on fixing his hair with a heavy sigh. "Well, as awesome as it is that you can do magic, _don't do that again."_

"No promises," Adam responded, grinning when both Douglas and Chase glared at him. He liked being better at something he had just learned than anybody else. Well, except Douglas, but he didn't really count. And seeing the expressions on Chase's and Douglas' faces when Adam proved them wrong was an excellent bonus prize.

Ah, happiness: It was in the little things.

Douglas opened his mouth to say something – likely it wouldn't be very appropriate – but he was interrupted by the elevator opening and Tasha stepping out, holding Oly by the tail. "Keep her out of the kitchen!" Tasha snapped, handing Oly to Chase as she glared at Douglas. "She took all of the forks and knives from the drawer and stuck them into the ceiling." She held up her forearm, showing off a bandage. "One fell and cut me! Keep your imp under control or get rid of her!"

"It's how I say that I like someone," Oly protested, obviously lying to get out of trouble.

"It's how she says that she likes someone," Douglas defended, gesturing at Oly.

Adam frowned. The fact that Douglas liked to mess with Tasha was strange to him. _He_ never found a reason to mess with her. Whatever problem Douglas had with her was far beyond his understanding.

"Keep her _out_ of the kitchen!" Tasha repeated. "Or I'll flatten her like your hair."

Douglas was silent for a second, glaring at her. Then, he spread his arms wide. "Hey, Tasha: Give me a hug."

Tasha backed up. "No, thanks."

Douglas smirked and started walking towards her, dripping water all over the floor. "Come on –"

"You stay away from me," Tasha hissed, backing towards the elevator.

"Oh, but _Tasha –"_

She reached the elevator and started pressing the button rapidly. "Douglas, I'm warning you –"

"Show your brother-in-law some love!" Douglas, arms still wide, followed Tasha into the elevator as the door opened.

"_Douglas –"_

The doors closed, cutting off her words.

Chase stared at the elevator doors for a second before dropping Oly into the watery puddle on the floor. "Why in the _hell_ would you do something that could hurt somebody?!"

Oly shook herself off. "It amused me," she huffed. "It's not like _you've_ been doing anything fun lately. Speaking of, when are you and Yahn going to beat the crap out of each other?"

"They're not," Adam cut in. Their petty rivalry had gone on long enough. He patted Yahn's head. "Yahn, Hellcat's not going to hurt anybody. You don't need to guard against him."

Yahn shot Chase a look before nodding. "If you do anything, Half-Breed, you'll wake up to a horrible, horrible –"

"And you'll get a foot up your ass," Chase hissed, pinning his ears. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to find a towel."He then grinned, his fangs reminding Adam of a vampire. "Too bad you decided to do that. _You_ have to clean it up."

Oly laughed as she climbed up onto Chase's shoulder as he turned and started down the tunnel. "Joke's on you, punk!"

Adam frowned. Maybe he _hadn't_ quite thought his demonstration through.

Oh well. At least they weren't doubting him anymore.

* * *

**So…Adam's good at magic.**

**What else does he have going for him?**

**Actually, the Charmer and magic thing is probably about it.**

**Anyways, next chapter will be more entertaining. Hopefully. At least, it will be less filler. It will have more of an action plan. This was essentially to establish that Adam was good at magic.  
**

**So, until then, feel free to review. Or don't. I don't really care.**

**Also, if anybody's seen Simon's Cat, how much like Hellcat, Oly, Yahn or Ysthry is that cat?! xD It's so cute!**

**Oh, and enjoy.**

***Bows and exits***


	14. Chapter 14 - And We're In

**"Hello? Is this thing on? Yes? Okay then. Douglas here! Zara doesn't know I took this from her. :3**

**"Anyhow, welcome to the glorious showcase of my general awesomeness. :D Zara maintains that this story involves everybody, but we all know it's about me.**

**"I'd like to thank my various fans – you know, the readers and reviewers who continue to show up – and would like to repay you with this 'yo mamma' joke because I don't have anything clever. **

**"Yo mamma's so stupid that she bought tickets to Xbox Live.**

**"So let's answer some reviews!"**

**Mia-Teresa-Davenport: **** "I believe that Hellcat was trying to distinguish the never-gonna-happen demon coupling from Chia by calling it Hellia."**

**j. liz. 8:**** "I will ****_not_**** be cleaning that water up! Adam did it, ****_he_**** cleans it! And I know he's not useless. It's just hard to remember sometimes."**

**DisneyXDGirl:**** "You will do so or I'll shove the leaves so far up your ass that you'll be tasting maple syrup for a week!"**

**DarkestKing:**** "Two things. First, we're here! Second, I heard something about some nukes?!"**

**RissA15:**** "I made Zara explain this to me, and she had a point. The concentration thing to do magic is based heavily on how magick – the religious form that is practiced in real life – works. And, while she won't make Adam just awesome at magic, it would make sense that he would pick up on it first, since he seems to focus on a single thing all the time. Most everybody has to practice concentrating on a single thing for more than a few seconds. Our minds wander too much. Go on, try it. I dare you to focus on one thing without another thought crossing your mind. I bet you won't be able to do it for long. Oh, and your army is going down."**

**Gg180000****: "I don't know how I feel about this."**

**"Anyways, let's get to the chapter! I'm sure you're dying to read about what I've been up to. Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."**

**Douglas, you rat bastard! Give me that!**

* * *

_"A man's true character comes out when he's drunk."_

**Charles Chaplin**

* * *

_"I had a daddy, didn't I? He wasn't perfect and he certainly wasn't the one I'd dreamed he would have been, but I had one all the same. And I'd love him as much as I'd hated him, hadn't I? All that distance, all that time wasted, but the fact that he'd inspired such passion in me meant something in itself. I can honestly say now that I think that's special. Screwed up and turned inside out, we were special him and me, and I am so thankful that I can say that I had a daddy and that he mattered. All his faults and failures mean nothing to me now."_

**Melodie Ramone****_, After Forever Ends_**

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen – And We're In**

**_Chase_**

As it turned out, Bree didn't want to let anyone in. Not on her watch!

Which would be why she was outside, patrolling the fence when Owen decided to show up. Little artistic punk. He interrupted me when I was rubbing my side against the stair railing while I waited for Leo to finish practicing his ability to concentrate on a single thing.

Because that bitch was _mine._ Not sure why. But it belonged to me. So, even though only Ysthry, Oly, Yahn and I were the only ones who would be able to actually tell – only our noses were sensitive enough – but at least _they_ would know it.

It was the principle of the thing.

However, when Owen knocked on the door, I did two things. First, I forced myself to appear totally human. It wouldn't do to expose the demon world to some….

I didn't have a series of words that were accurate enough. Eccentric posing hipster wannabe? Was that it?

Close enough.

The next thing I did was attempt to answer the door.

I only said "attempt" because Douglas beat me to it.

"Hello," Owen instantly greeted while Douglas stared at him with an unreadable expression. "I'm here to take my muse on a date to the new art exhibit."

Douglas narrowed his eyes. "Who is this douchebag?" he asked, pointing at Owen.

Mr. Davenport got up from the couch, putting down his newspaper as he started for the back door. "I'll get Bree."

"Bree is your muse?" Douglas asked slowly.

Owen grinned dramatically. "She is the single ray of sunshine that breaks through the storm clouds in my life. She is the drop of vibrant color in the clear water of my soul. She is the – "

Douglas casually slammed the door in Owen's face, cutting him off. He locked the door and walked back to the couch, sitting and picking up the newspaper. "NASA is working on warp bubbles," he observed.

I started to laugh. However, I felt the need to ask the golden question: "What was that for?"

Douglas snorted with contempt. "That posing asshole isn't going to be dating _my_ daughter. Bree deserves better. What does he do, by the way? Is he some kind of drama student, or…?"

As much as I agreed, I had a feeling that it wasn't going to end well for him. Bree wouldn't be pleased. "A bad artist. You _do_ realize that Bree is going to be pissed, right?"

Douglas shrugged. "She'll get over it once she realizes that I'm right."

Mr. Davenport entered the room again, looking around with a confused expression. "Where's Owen?"

"Outside," Douglas answered casually.

"It was neat," I elaborated. "We're all thinking of locking Owen out, and he just _does_ it."

Mr. Davenport rolled his eyes and crossed the room, opening the door to reveal a bewildered Owen. "She'll be out here in a second," Mr. Davenport said, gesturing for Owen to come in.

"Now why did you have to let him in?" Douglas complained. "He'll infect the house with his –"

"Thank you, Douglas," Davenport sighed, cutting him off.

"Douglas?" Owen echoed, smiling politely. "I'm Owen. Nice to meet you."

Douglas didn't even look at Owen when he responded. "I don't like you."

Owen's smile faded. "Might I ask why?"

With a sigh, Douglas looked over the top of the newspaper. "I'm not fond of artists."

"Afraid of an emotionally open individual?" Owen challenged while we all rolled our eyes. "In this day and age, expressing oneself should be celebrated –"

"Okay, stop." Douglas folded the paper and put it down on the couch beside him. "You are nothing but a poser. You act like a rebellious, emotional guy when, in reality, you're not. You just regurgitate bullshit that you hear others say in the hopes of sounding intelligent yourself. You have _some_ kind of artistic talent, but waste it by working too hard to be deep and brooding in an attempt to convince the world that you have some kind of tortured soul when you _don't –"_

"How do you know that I don't have a tortured soul?" Owen interrupted.

"Because you wouldn't be fighting so hard to show it," Douglas growled. "You would let it out in bursts of artistic genius that you _wouldn't_ try to shove down everyone's throat. I think you're just acting tortured to get girls into bed –"

"_Douglas!" _Mr. Davenport snapped, mortification crossing his face.

"Because I used to do the same thing," Douglas finished, narrowing his eyes. "I know _exactly_ what you're doing, kid. If you want to pose as a tortured artist, that's your business. But, if I hear even _one whisper_ about you trying anything with Bree that she doesn't approve of, then you'll be meeting the wrong end of my fists. Or my .9mm pistol. Whichever I happen to have at the moment. Are we clear?"

Owen was exceedingly pale now. He nodded rapidly, backing towards the door slightly. I tilted my head, trying not to smile. Mr. Davenport was glaring at Douglas, visibly restraining himself from chewing his brother out while we were around. I doubted it would be appropriate. I resisted the urge to ask how Douglas knew all of that – and exactly how effective his tactic to get tail was, since he brought it up (hey, I was a teenaged boy; anything to help me get laid _had_ to be something I wanted to know _immediately_) – because I had a feeling that any word spoken would act as the spark that blew the tense situation sky-high.

Luckily, the tension was eased a bit when Bree finally showed up, smiling until she noticed that we weren't talking. She rolled her weight back on one heel and rested one hand on her hip sassily. "Okay, what happened?"

"You might want to leave before you ask," I informed her, grinning.

Owen nodded rapidly. Bree shot Douglas a look – how she knew that he had caused the situation was…actually not all that surprising – before taking Owen's hand and leading him towards the door. "We'll be back later," she called over her shoulder before the door closed behind the couple.

I burst out laughing as I let my demonic form show openly again. "It's about time someone told him!"

Mr. Davenport, however, smacked Douglas on the back of the head. "Just how drunk are you?"

Douglas held up his hands, holding his thumb and index finger close together. "A tad buzzed," he answered, smiling.

Douglas was drunk? Damn. The guy might have lost what little filter he had, but he seemed to handle it well.

"Where did you even _get_ alcohol?" Mr. Davenport sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Douglas stood up and crossed his arms. "I'm legal, thank you," he huffed.

"Oh, is Master drunk again?"

Oly came flying down the stairs, landing on the back of the couch excitedly. She started to jump up and down. "What are we going to blow up this time? Can it be another one of those stupid convenience stores?" She snapped her beak loudly. "Selling corndogs, gasoline and lottery tickets in the same store is just _stupid."_

"What's your problem with that?" I asked curiously, lowing one ear while the other was perked.

She pointed at me. "Because shut up, that's why," she huffed.

"We're not going to blow something up," Douglas answered, rolling his eyes.

"Because you're going to sober up," Mr. Davenport huffed.

"You're no fun," Oly sighed, jumping down to the floor. She made to jump on the stair railing, but I growled and pinned my ears, stopping her.

Because it was mine, remember?

"Donnie, I'll be _fine,_" Douglas assured.

"Tasha's going to be mad that you brought alcohol into the house," Mr. Davenport muttered.

"I have it locked away so that the kids can't get into it," Douglas snorted. "Donnie, I have everything under control. I promise."

Mr. Davenport sighed again. "Don't drive and don't build anything," he finally relented. "And don't get totally trashed. Again. You always seemed to get in trouble that way."

"You worry too much," Douglas snorted. "Right, Hellcat?"

"Don't bring me into this," I responded, holding my hands up. It wasn't any of my business what Douglas did in his downtime. If he wanted to get drunk, let the guy get drunk. As long as he stayed at home and was responsible with it, I didn't have a problem.

The elevator door opened by the kitchen, revealing Leo and Adam, Ysthry and Yahn on their respective shoulders. "Into what?" Adam asked.

"It's not important," Douglas answered.

Mr. Davenport rolled his eyes.

"Leo," I said, changing the subject. "Did you finally get to where you could concentrate?"

"For a little bit," Leo answered, shrugging.

I nodded. "Well, get ready to study some more. Because you and I are going to learn all about how demons work."

* * *

_"Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan."_

**Tom Landry**

* * *

_"If I ever completely lost my nervousness I would be frightened half to death."_

**Paul Lynde**

* * *

**_Douglas_**

Leo was taking notes, actually looking like he was hanging on Hall's every word as the Summoner explained something. At least, that was what it looked like from a distance. It was hard to tell from across the damned room.

Beside Douglas, Chase's ears were flicking back and forth, listening to snippets of conversation that buzzed around them. The Council meeting had ended about ten minutes earlier, and Leo was already working his "eager student" angle. Adam was mingling with various demons, appearing at ease. It was kind of strange to see someone so content with the creatures, but whatever made the kid happy, right?

Oly shifted on his shoulder, catching Douglas' attention. "Think Leo is screwing us?"

"I'm sure he's doing fine," Chase assured. "We spent hours making sure that he wouldn't let on that he already knows what he's asking."

"Nerves might get him, though," Douglas observed, nodding at Leo.

"You yourself said that he does better under pressure," Chase pointed out, nudging Douglas with his elbow.

Douglas tilted his head. "Yes, but he kept messing up for a bit. He might slip back into that."

"I don't think he did," Oly pointed out as Leo and Hall shook hands. As Leo turned around and started towards them through the small crowd, he was grinning victoriously. On his shoulder, Ysthry was yawning, her long tongue curling.

If she was unconcerned, then Leo must have succeeded. Who knew that he was capable of being a double agent?

"Hall likes me," Leo declared in a sing-song voice once he reached them.

"Don't celebrate yet," Douglas responded. "You're still not his apprentice."

"Oh, but I _am,"_ Leo replied, a smug expression on his face.

"Already?" Chase asked, frowning.

Ysthry nodded.

"God _damn,"_ Douglas breathed. He had expected this to take a few more weeks. Apparently, Hall wasn't so hard to impress. "Then you know that you can't rely on us anymore, right?"

Leo's joyous expression suddenly seemed to falter. "What?"

"Once you're studying with Hall, it'll be one-on-one," Chase explained. "We won't be there. It's all on you now."

Leo's eyes widened as he swallowed hard. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Douglas confirmed. "We've gotten you this far. Just remember: Take it slow. We don't need to know everything immediately. If you move too fast, you'll blow it."

Leo nodded, appearing nervous now. "Is it too late to back out of this?"

"Yep," Chase answered, smiling a bit. "You're in this for the long haul."

When Leo paled a bit, Douglas resolved to talk to him later. Or to get Donnie to do so. Either way, the kid obviously needed some reassurance.

Not that Douglas particularly cared whether or not Leo was comfortable. He just didn't want the runt to mess everything up.

Adam appeared between Douglas and Chase, resting his good hand on Chase's shoulder. Poor guy; he would have the wear the cast for a few more weeks. "What's going on over here?"

"Leo's in," Chase summed up.

Adam nodded thoughtfully while Yahn grinned. "Good luck, kid."

"And don't mess up," Douglas added seriously.

Leo swallowed hard.

Maybe it was time to worry about Leo's acting skills again.

* * *

**Well, that plan worked much faster than Douglas expected.**

**That, and buzzed Douglas is amusing. xD**

**That doesn't mean that you should go out and drink. Please don't. It's just something Douglas does occasionally.**

**Anywho, I'm sure you don't need me to say anything just for some of you to say how much you hate Leo. xD**

**By the way, feel free to review. Or don't. I'm more concerned with my carrot-munching guinea pig than that. xD**

**And enjoy.**

***Bows and exits***


	15. Chapter 15 - Patience and Loathing

**I apologize for last time. Douglas got hold of my keyboard…and was drunk….**

**So it obviously did not end well.**

**Anywho, this chapter is a tad short, but it's important, so here it is.**

**So thanks to all my readers and reviewers. You know, for being patient enough to deal with Douglas when he's a bit tipsy.**

**Mia-Teresa-Davenport:**** "I, Chase, now present a haiku about Hellia.**

**"No no no no no**

**Never going to happen**

**No no no no no"**

**Gg180000: **_"I'm pretty sure Chase could get into the alcohol if he wanted to. I mean he's a demon super genius. I just realized how much I want to see a drunk demon chase. XD"_

**Everybody, stick a pin in this, because I am coming back to it. You just won't know when. xD**

**j. liz. 8:**** "Why are you yelling at me?! Douglas' drunk ass said that!"**

**DisneyXDGirl:**** "Did you seriously just imply that a world-class hacker can't track your computer ip to your home address in less than an hour? Because I can. :3 Wanna play that game?"**

**Douglas, stop threatening people. I promise that I won't let him hack you.**

**RissA15:**** "Zara has banned me from having this debate on the grounds that she doesn't want to listen to me bitch if I just so happen to lose. However, she did approve of me asking this question. Kind of an IQ test, if you will. If a tree falls in the forest – and no one is around to hear it – does your home owners' insurance cover your neighbor's medical bills?"**

**I have looked up "keljord" and can't find what it means. O_o**

**DarkestKing:**_"…And no Douglas, there aren't no nukes for you…"_

**"Buzzkill."**

**Thanks for letting us hide here. :3**

**Anywho, let's get this chapter under way! Summoner Hall?**

**"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."**

* * *

_"Did perpetual happiness in the Garden of Eden maybe get so boring that eating the apple was justified?"_

**Chuck Palahniuk**

* * *

_"Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet."_

**Aristotle**

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen - Patience and Loathing  
**

**_Leo_**

Arthur Hall was an intimidating man.

He carried himself in a way that communicated that one should respect him at all times. Even demons seemed reluctant to engage in back talk or mischief with him.

So imagine how Leo felt during his first few training sessions with Hall. Don't misunderstand: Leo learned more about summoning, magic and demons in a few days than he had in the group classes led by Miss Donna. However, he learned nothing about possible ulterior motives or shady alliances, and he was a bit afraid to pry.

This lack of progress didn't seem to bother anybody at home. Chase even went so far as to point out that Hall wasn't going to divulge any evil schemes right off the bat.

However, with Krane being untraceable, Leo was growing increasingly worried with each passing day. Ysthry had suggested a bit of snooping. Maybe Hall had some information kept in drawers or desks? However, even when Hall wasn't in the room, at least one of his demons was. And all of them were endlessly loyal to the guy for some reason.

Rumor had it that Hall tended to feed misbehaving demons to larger ones. And - if the demons' behavior around Hall was anything to go by - Leo was inclined to believe it.

"You see, demons seem to have a loose pack mentality," Hall was explaining, bringing Leo's attention back to the present. Hall was telling Leo why demons tended to cower around different demons while trying to intimidate others. "They tend to operate alone. However, in a group, they defer to the strongest one. The chain of command goes from the strongest down to the weakest. Somehow, without having to test each other, they know who is stronger or weaker than themselves."

That would explain why Oly, Yahn and Ysthry occasionally mentioned getting eaten by Chase. Even if Oly would stand up to him, Chase was still stronger. Which, of course, brought Leo to his next question. "I've seen some imps challenge djiinis, though. If they submit, why would they do that?"

"Just because they submit doesn't mean that they are happy about it," Hall answered. "For example, think of your least-favorite person in the world. Then, imagine that you were working together, and _they_ were in charge. You might resent them a bit and squabble, but you would have to listen to them in the end to get anything done, no?"

That made a lot of sense. He would have to ask later, of course – Chase would probably have a more sarcastic answer, which was always entertaining – but Leo wrote it down anyways. It would be nice to have a basic understanding of why a pack of demons seemed to exist in his house.

On his shoulder, Ysthry yawned before nipping at an itch under her wing. Leo didn't blame her. As useful as this information was, it was a bit boring. Maybe he could get Hall to change the subject for a while? "So, I remember you saying something about a new Circle at a meeting," Leo began. Learning a new Circle might be fun, right?

However, Hall just leaned back in his chair and smiled. "I'd much rather show you, but not for a few more lessons. Maybe next week? But it's top secret. You can't tell anyone about it. Promise?"

Leo nodded vigorously. Why he would want to discuss the finer points of a new Circle with anyone was beyond him. It would be about as bad as when Chase decided to talk about quantum mechanics or whatever. Or when Douglas decided to do "drunk science" a few nights ago.

How he ended up on the roof with a blow torch and a bowl of Spaghetti-o's was never quite discovered, but Douglas almost tore a hole in the space-time continuum.

Or so he continued to yell as Mr. Davenport dragged his drunk ass back through the window.

According to Chase, Douglas could actually handle his alcohol well…until he had one too many. Everybody had a limit.

On second thought, drunk science was actually pretty funny.

"Anyways," Hall continued, breaking Leo from his thoughts, "let's move on to some history about Summoning."

As Hall droned on about a few Summoners who had helped pave the way for everybody in this day and age, Leo found himself bored again.

Why couldn't Hall just randomly blurt out an evil plot? Or let him out early so that he could watch as the new fence was put up? That _had_ to be more entertaining than this.

At least he was on a mission, right? He just wished it wasn't so dull.

* * *

_"You, sir, are annoying as fuck!"_

**Unknown**

* * *

_"I don't hate you.. I just don't like that you exist"_

**Gena Showalter,****_ Seduce the Darkness_**

* * *

**_Chase_**

Watching guys run a wire was boring.

They themselves were probably bored, too.

Therefore, Oly and I decided to make their lives more interesting.

How, you ask?

By being as in-the-way as we possibly could.

Oly was accomplishing this by flapping around as a sparrow, perching on the wire and making it sag before they could pull it tight. I, on the other hand, took a more sophisticated approach by watching them in a full-human guise.

And asking a _shit-ton_ of questions.

"What kind of tool is this?"

"It's a pair of pliers?"

"Oh…what does it 'ply?' And why does it take two?"

"It doesn't ply. And you only need one."

"Then why is it called 'a pair of pliers?' Also, why do you build fences for a living?"

It was about here that he gave a heavy sigh of frustration. "Because I like working with my hands."

Cue my sympathetic head shake. "So you flunked out of college?"

Yeah, that guy didn't talk to me again.

Anyways, Oly and I managed to take a boring hours-long job and turn it into a frustrating hours-long job. It was fun for us – if we ignored the pain from being in an alternate form for so long - and I bet it was fun for them.

Because I was such a nice person. See? Always giving back.

I thought it was a bit excessive when Tasha grounded me for a week, but whatever.

Anyways, it was after they left – one actually flipping me off while I grinned and waved – that we were standing near the gate, waiting for Adam to get his magic on. He was glaring at the thin wire that now graced the fence, mouthing words that he would be using. Tasha, Mr. Davenport and Bree were watching him intently, wanting to see how magic worked. Douglas was standing behind his brother with his arms crossed, obviously still sore that Mr. Davenport hadn't trusted him enough to do the spell. Oly was perched on Douglas' shoulder as a parrot, looking bored with the entire situation while Yahn was sitting on Adam's feet as a golden lab puppy, ready to drum up some energy for him to use. I know that some of you are wondering why I wasn't going to throw my energy into this. Well, it was easy: Adam was used to Yahn's. If I started adding mine, it might become overwhelming.

Because I generated _a lot _more. Because I was awesome like that.

I myself was fidgeting from one foot to the other, wishing that Adam would hurry up. The burning itch in my side was _killing _me, and I wanted to go inside and change back to my regular form so that it went away. I knew that it was my fault – I didn't _have_ to spend so much time out here with the men that built the fence – but that didn't stop me from being pissed about it.

After several moments, Adam_ finally_ started talking. As I shielded my eyes from the rapidly setting sun that glared at us from across the street, I only caught bits and pieces of whatever gibberish Summoners used to do magic, but at least he was doing it! I doubted that he even noticed the guy that passed by on the sidewalk, looking at us as if we were crazy. Seriously, he was -

I was suddenly hit with overwhelming hatred for that guy.

You don't understand: I fucking _hated_ him.

I wanted to twist his head off and dance on his grave.

And I had no idea why. He was just a random stranger, right? I ran through the planes to check that he was human. Why?

Because I had only felt that way around Ferran in Italy.

Yet – though the guy was human through-and-through – I still hated him.

_He is someone worth killing in the most brutal, slowest, most painful way possible._

For some reason, I agreed this time. Thank you for summing up my thoughts, little voice.

I let out a low growl as I watched the guy pass us. Who in the hell was that guy, and why did he bother me so much?

A couple of hands came down on my shoulders. Suddenly realizing how tense I was, I snapped back to the present and glanced around to see that Mr. Davenport had his hand on one of my shoulders while Douglas had _his_ hand on my other, both wearing expressions that they had sensed that something was wrong. "You all right?" Mr. Davenport whispered so that he didn't interrupt Adam.

Shooting the guy one last look as he walked further and further away, I forced myself to nod. He was leaving, so it wouldn't be a problem anymore.

Would've been nice to know why I hated him so much, though.

* * *

**What the hell was that about? Who in the flying fuck was that guy? And why is Hall so secretive about his stupid new Circle?**

**Who thinks they know the answer?**

**Well, I suppose that, should you keep reading, you would find out anyways.**

**So feel free to review. Or don't. I don't care. :3**

**And enjoy.**

***Bows and exits***


	16. Chapter 16 - Unrest and Doubt

**Holy hell, this chapter is late, Zara!**

**Why, you ask?**

**Well, to begin with, I had a tad of writer's block. Usually, I can work through that, but couple it with the general discontent of losing the water in your house for four days, and the want to do anything productive kind of dies. **

**For the record, they fixed it, and I have ****_never_**** been so damned happy to flush a toilet, brush my teeth and take a shower in my life!**

**Then, this was supposed to be up hours ago, but Microsoft Word kicked the document into the abyss, forever losing it and forcing me to rewrite everything.**

**Anyway, enough about me. I would like to thank my readers and reviewers for sticking around. Oh, and I would like to note the general relief we all feel now that the fangirl army is distracted for a moment.**

**Mia-Teresa-Davenport:**** "According to you, it hasn't calmed them down. Also, I have a question: Why is no one talking to me about this? Just you?"**

**RissA15:**** "Yes! I win!"**

**Douglas, she doesn't feel like answering your question.**

**"Oh, like you know the answer."**

**I don't. Some information is missing. Was the tree on my property? Was my neighbor hurt when it fell? That shit, dumbass. Also, I feel like unleashing my inner smartass tonight. For someone who is so secretive, why in the ****_hell_**** are you asking me to break a secret code of yours? It seems…counter-productive. (Pretty sure it means "fuckers," by the way. No real work went into that. It's more of a hunch.)**

**DarkestKing:**** The guy might be.**

**UnknownForNow:**** The Davenport brothers' problems go a bit deeper than the fence, mind you. :3 And Chase isn't all that used to listening to instinct, so he kind of reacts without being able to process it until later.**

**DisneyXDGirl:**** Maybe.**

**j. liz. 8:**** "First, I challenge you to walk up to a random drunk guy, contest his opinion and come out unscathed. Second, not much will happen. I'll just lose interest eventually. :3"**

**AllAmericanSlurp:**** Chase has always had vampire-like fangs. O.o Also, I'm not fond of Owen. Friggin' poser. And he might be able to.**

**Got some good theories about who that man was, but who is right? We'll see. Douglas?**

**"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."**

* * *

_"…But you? You're not allowed. You're uninvited; an unfortunate slight…."_

**Alanis Morissette**

* * *

_ "You never know what you have till you've lost it."_

**Alyson Noel****_, Evermore_**

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen - Unrest and Doubt  
**

**_Bree_**

Chase had a problem.

He wouldn't admit it, but he was definitely worried about _something._

Twice a day for the past two days, Chase waited by the fence as a cat for a man to walk by. Bree figured that it was someone who must have just moved into the neighborhood or something, because she didn't recognize him. However, every morning he passed by their house going into town, and every evening saw him passing by in the other direction.

And Chase trotted alongside him, his fur on end and tail lashing as he hissed and let out threatening yowls until he reached the end of the fence and had to stop. Even then, he would glare after the guy until he passed from view.

It was odd. Chase had _never_ openly threatened a complete stranger before. So what was up with the new guy?

Presently, Bree was watching Chase follow the man along the fence from the porch. Beside her, Douglas was frowning, his brow furrowed thoughtfully. She had decided to drag Douglas out to watch the performance rather than Mr. Davenport. It seemed like a possible demon problem, which Douglas would understand better. However, Bree herself couldn't see the problem. She had checked the planes she could see, and nothing was amiss. He was definitely human. But Chase seemed to think otherwise, so Bree and Douglas watched the stranger silently as the setting sun created the illusion of a light halo around him.

"Didn't think he hated that guy _that_ much," Douglas mused aloud as Chase reached the end of the fence and stopped, still glaring at the man.

"Why would he hate anyone at _all?"_ Bree asked, tilting her head a bit.

Douglas shrugged. "Intuition? Who knows? All I know is that Hellcat has pretty sound judgment. Something isn't setting right with him about that guy, and there's probably a reason for it."

"It doesn't look like he's suspicious," Bree pointed out. "It looks like he wants to tear the guy a new one."

"I've noticed," he responded casually as he leaned on the railing. "I'm sure that he has a good reason for doing this."

"Seriously?" Bree raised an eyebrow, gesturing at cat-Chase. "Are you suggesting that we just _ignore_ this?"

Douglas shook his head. "I didn't say that, did I?"

"We can't just let him attack random people," Bree huffed.

Douglas shot her an annoyed look. "How about this: Instead of acting like Hellcat's the bad guy, we focus on the person who's bothering him? We both know that this wouldn't be happening without a good reason."

"We don't even know the guy!" Bree countered incredulously. Was Douglas _really_ not seeing a problem with Chase's behavior?

Douglas shot her a look. "You've never just hated a random person in your school? For no reason at all?"

Bree opened her mouth to offer an example, but – after a moment – she had to close her mouth again. She could list a couple of people she couldn't stand without her ever having spoken to them. After a second, she sighed. "Fine. Then what do we do?"

"We _do_ have a couple of imps lying around. We could make them actually do something for once," Douglas pointed out. "Oly's getting lazy, anyways."

Bree nodded, turning her attention back to Chase, who was pacing along the fence. Hopefully, Oly found something soon. Either that, or Chase needed a lesson in etiquette. Well, while she had Douglas alone, she felt the need to ask a question that had been bothering her. Before she did, though, she punched his shoulder.

Douglas jumped a bit, rubbing his arm dramatically. "What was that for?"

"For messing with my boyfriend. Why did you do that?"

Douglas shrugged. "I didn't tell him anything that wasn't true."

Bree rolled her eyes. "Don't do it again, asshole."

Douglas chuckled a bit. "No promises."

Bree sighed and turned on her heel and strode toward the door. As Douglas turned his attention back to Chase, Bree found herself bothered by a question that she had been wanting to ask for about a week. "Douglas?" When he looked back at her, she took a deep breath and asked, "Do you ever miss Marcus?"

He smiled a bit as melancholy laced his expression. "Sometimes."

Although Bree wanted to follow up with some other questions, Douglas turned around again. Seeing that he was obviously done talking about the situation, Bree opened the door and went inside to find her phone, barely sparing Leo and glance as he sat on the couch, reading a book that could rival one of Chase's in thickness. However, when she turned to the counter – the last place she had left her phone - she was met with the horrifying sight of Ysthry sitting on the counter, swallowing said phone whole.

If Leo wasn't so fond of Ysthry, she would have killed the little imp then and there. However, she sped to the counter and caught Ysthry by her long neck. "You're not leaving until you spit that up."

Ysthry squirmed and squeaked in protest. "Let go!"

"Again, not until you spit my phone up," Bree snarled, sitting at the counter. "I can wait. I have all day."

* * *

_"Doubt is a lot like faith; A mustard's seed worth changes everything."_

**Donna Johnson, ****_Holy Ghost Girl: A Memoir_**

* * *

_ "'May as well have ox blood running through those veins,' I added, 'You're as stubborn as one.'"_

**Katherine McIntyre,****_ An Airship Named Desire_**

* * *

**_Chase_**

With that asshole successfully chased off, I trotted back towards the house. Stupid guy, existing and all. Who the hell did he think he was?

_I still say that you should incinerate him._

_ If he comes along at night, I'll incinerate him,_ I retorted. _However, cats shooting fireballs in broad daylight is going to catch someone's attention._

As I hopped onto the porch, Douglas scooped me up. Damn it; maybe I should have changed into a more human form before approaching Douglas. I squirmed a bit. "Put me down."

"Not until we get something straight," Douglas began. "I get that you don't like that guy, and that's fine. However, you're freaking Bree out by following him along the fence, which means that everybody else is going to catch on."

"So?" I countered as he balanced me against him on his forearm. "That asshole needs to stay away."

"That's just it: He's not going to," Douglas pointed out. "Obviously, he has a job in town. So he's going to be passing the fence every day, whether you like it or not."

I pinned my ears and tucked my paws close to me. "Then what am I supposed to do? I don't like that guy. He rubs me wrong."

"No, _this _is rubbing you wrong." Douglas ran his hand along my back from near my tail up to my neck, messing up all of my fur. For the record, having a smartass rub your fur against the grain sucked. I clawed his arm a bit and hissed while he went on. "Anyways, I'm not saying that we should let this go. I'm going to get Oly to spy on this guy."

"I want to go, too," I said instantly. I wanted to know this guy's game.

"No," Douglas denied instantly.

"Why not?" I instantly protested.

"Because I don't trust you not to attack the guy," Douglas hissed. "You just chased him along the fence as the most threatening guard cat in the world!"

"Because he's no good," I huffed.

"Which is why you can't go. I'm sure Donnie would be pissed if he had to bail you out of jail for assault or show up at a murder trial."

"Do you think I can't do it? That I can't control myself?" I huffed. Was he worried that my demon half would take over and that I would tear the guy apart? I could control myself! Where was all of this doubt coming from? It stung, honestly.

After a moment, Douglas sighed heavily. "It's just not a chance I want to take, kid."

I felt myself bristle, which meant that I spoke before I could think. "You can't stop me from going with Oly."

However, as this was Douglas, he didn't like being challenged much. "Want to bet on that?" he growled ominously.

Well, since I was already in trouble, I figured that I might as well go all the way with it. "I do. There's not a damn thing you can do to stop me from going."

Douglas narrowed his eyes and put me down on the porch. "We'll see."

I shook my fur out and changed back into my glorious self, brushing the imaginary dust off of my shirt. I prepared to counter his threat, but he was already going through the back door, closing it behind him. Therefore, I was standing on the porch with a finger raised and my mouth open like an idiot. After a second, I snapped my jaw shut. He wasn't going to stop me. I _was_ going with Oly. Although I had a feeling that I would have to evade a dozen and one more-than-creative traps and tactics that he could employ to actually keep me around. I let out a heavy sigh and entered the house. Douglas was nowhere to be seen, no doubt already putting whatever plan he had into action. Honestly, I kind of wanted to talk to him. Maybe I could make him see this my way if I just threw a logical argument at him enough times.

_Why are you trying to make him see reason? He is an idiot, and you have free will! He can't control you._

True, but I still wanted to try and resolve this first. So that meant that I had to appeal to Douglas' sense of reason.

However, the general atmosphere surrounding Bree and Ysthry in the living room captured my interest before I could ask where Douglas was. Bree had the imp pinned to the counter, fury on her face. "Cough it up, already!"

Ysthry hissed a bit, squirming. "Let go! My belly hurts!"

"Cough up what?" I asked, finally deciding to lean on the back of the couch near Leo.

"This little runt ate my phone," Bree huffed.

Huh, so Ysthry decided to eat a phone. Whatever worked, I guessed. "She was probably just curious," I defended.

"She needs to cough it up," Bree snapped, glaring at Ysthry.

"Cough up the phone, Ysthry," Leo drawled absently, turning the page in his book.

"It'll take a minute," Ysthry answered with a wince.

Well, since we had a minute, I decided to start a conversation. "So, Leo: Find anything with Hall?"

Leo shook his head and sighed. "Nothing. No evil plots, no evidence that Krane has ever contacted him, no _anything_ yet. Either he's not involved, or he's hiding it well."

I shrugged. "You have to spend time building trust, man. What about snooping? Have you tried digging through his desk?"

"We can't," Leo answered unhappily. "He has demons everywhere. We're never alone."

"The guy might be nice, but he's watching us close," Ysthry continued. "He won't –" Ysthry broke off to gag a bit. After a couple of dry heaves, she finally spat the phone onto the counter. Bree wrinkled her nose at the smoldering, hissing mess of parts that were still dissolving due to the acid in Ysthry's stomach and mouth. Ysthry, however, shook her scales out as Bree released her. "I feel better now."

"Probably," I responded, grinning. "So…anyone see where Douglas went?"

"Down to the Lab," Bree responded with a sigh. "He didn't look happy, either. What did you do?"

"Nothing wrong," I huffed defensively, pushing myself upright and lowered my ears before I started towards the elevator. I was going to make him see reason.

Because I was going to find out what that weird guy was hiding.

And it would be nice if I didn't have to fight tooth and nail through safety measures to do so.

* * *

**Hmm, Chase really hates that guy. And he and Douglas aren't on the same page for once! Gasp! I wonder how that will play out?**

**And poor Leo: He's so bored! xD Aren't spy missions supposed to be fun?**

**Anyways, feel free to review. Or don't. I don't care. :3**

**And enjoy.**

***Bows and exits***


	17. Chapter 17 - Deceiver

**Woo! Chapter Seventeen!**

**I love writing angry Hellcat!**

**Not really, but it ****_does_**** keep things interesting.**

**Anyways, I don't want to keep you guys waiting long, so let's kick this off. I'd like to thank all my readers and reviews for…well, reading and reviewing. What else, right?**

**Mia-Teresa-Davenport:**** "Still nothing. I am officially off the Hellia hook. :3"**

**Gg180000:**** "Geez, I don't want to hurt him! Just keep him from going on a mission!"**

**I assure you that, as it is me, the solution is much, much more unnecessarily complex than that. xD**

**DarkestKing:**** I'm thinking I've now gotten two votes for Douglas is gonna summon Chase and bind his will. Got another theory on the guy! Woo! We'll see. :3**

**RissA15:**** Were any of the leads in the right direction?**

**DisneyXDGirl:**** "Hey! I ****_like_**** my head firmly on my shoulders!"**

**"When it's not up your ass."**

**"Shut up, Hellcat!"**

**AllAmericanSlurp****: Ysthry was curious, so she investigated the phone in the most logical demon way possible: Eating it. :3**

**UnknownForNow:**** Hold that Tasha thought, because she's on her way.**

**So, who wants to do this? Hmm…Yahn?**

**"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."**

* * *

_"La plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu'il n'existe pas."_

_("The devil's finest trick is to persuade you that he does not exist.")_

**Charles Baudelaire, ****_Paris Spleen_**

* * *

_"You want to believe that there's one relationship in life that's beyond betrayal. A relationship that's beyond that kind of hurt. And there isn't."_

**Caleb Carr**

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen – Deceiver**

**_Adam_**

"I can control myself, and you know it," Chase huffed, following Douglas across the Lab. "Seriously, what the hell is your hang up?"

Douglas sighed heavily as he picked up the little metal band that formed the device he was working on and fixing a type of lock to both of the ends, checking the electronic key by locking it and unlocking it a few times. "We've been talking in circles for the past two hours," he informed Chase as he started doing something with the wires on the other side.

"We _wouldn't_ be talking in circles if you'd give me a straight answer," Chase retorted, leaning on the desk and glaring at Douglas, his tail lashing.

Douglas shot Chase a look. "I already told you that-"

"You don't want me hurting an innocent guy," Chase interrupted, rolling his eyes. "Since when do you care about strangers? And you _know_ that I can keep myself in check."

Douglas sighed again. "Hellcat -"

_"Why don't you want me going?" _Chase hissed challengingly. "What's the _real_ reason?"

"Because I _said_ so," Douglas growled.

"That's not a reason, either!" Chase snapped.

Adam watched all of this from the other side of the Lab, both Oly and Yahn in his lap and observing quietly, as well. It was strange that Oly wasn't encouraging their arguing to escalate into a physical fight, but Adam didn't question it. Douglas and Chase were obviously trying to work something out, and anyone who got involved would have to face the wrath of whoever they disagreed with.

Normally, their wraths weren't all that bad, but they were _really_ locking horns this time.

So Adam stayed quiet, watching as Chase and Douglas once again repeated the cycle that had plagued the past two hours: Chase demanding a reason, Douglas offering him one that sounded weak even to Adam - Chase wouldn't hurt anybody without a _very _good reason - and Chase calling him on it before it repeated again.

Honestly, Adam wondered if they even realized that they weren't alone.

In his lap, Oly shifted. "You don't think Half-Breed would eat us if he was mad enough, do you?" she asked, her voice a whisper.

"He wouldn't," Adam assured, rubbing the top of her head. "Spike would, but Hellcat won't."

Oly nodded and tilted her head as she went back to watching the verbal battle. Adam sighed. He could end the squabbling - all he had to do was talk, and Chase would be listening silently for minutes - but he had a feeling that this was something that they had to work out themselves.

So, even though he had chosen a side - Chase's - Adam held his tongue.

Douglas took off his watch and laid it on the cyber desk beside whatever his metal band was going to be. Adam noted a few buttons and a small light on the band as Douglas started messing with them both. Meanwhile, he had decided to try a different tactic than the one he had been using up until that point to talk to Chase. "Listen," he started, sounding much calmer than earlier. "I feel like we're getting nowhere here. Don't you?"

Chase narrowed his eyes suspiciously and crossed his arms, obviously wondering what Douglas was aiming for with this new approach. "Nowhere at all," he agreed, his voice much quieter now, too.

A few beeps sounded from Douglas' watch as the light on the metal band lit up green. He put the watch back on his wrist and gestured for Yahn to jump on the desk. "Let me get this made, and then we'll talk about it civilly, okay?"

After a second, Chase nodded. "What is that, anyways?"

"I'm going to attach a camera to it and give it to Oly," he explained. "That way, we can watch everything as she spies. Before that, though, I need to make it less rigid. Hit it, Yahn!"

Adam didn't know the actual spell Douglas was casting, but he had a feeling that something was off about it. The words he understood were strange for what Douglas claimed he was doing. Sure, the words for "flexible" and "indestructible" were in there, but so were the words "conform," "shift," and "bind." Adam shifted uncomfortably in his chair as Douglas finally finished his spell casting. With a grin, Douglas wrapped the metal band around his finger as easily as he would a piece of yarn.

The strength of metal with the flexibility of a watch band. It was an extremely impressive spell.

"Okay," Douglas said as he unwrapped his finger and turned to Chase. "I'll fix the camera to it later. However, I want to see if it works like it's supposed to. I know you're not just fond of me right now, but may I borrow your wrist?"

Chase eyed the little band cautiously. "After this, you'll hear me out?"

Douglas nodded.

Adam had to bite back the urge to warn Chase to back away. It was strange: Douglas wasn't doing anything threatening, but Adam still felt like he was being deceptive somehow. He chalked it up to the tension that had plagued the room for the past couple of hours and just watched as Chase offered Douglas his left arm.

Carefully, Douglas wrapped the band around Chase's wrist like a bracelet and connected the lock, using the key to secure it. The band instantly tightened around Chase's wrist, shrinking to rest right against the skin as the light blinked red twice. Chase lowered his ears and prodded it with his finger. "There's no slack for it to get caught on anything," he noted helpfully. "It doesn't hurt, though. It's a perfect fit. Now take it off."

Douglas shook his head. "No way, Hellcat."

Chase frowned and opened his mouth to protest, but hesitated. After a second his eyes widened with realization. "This was for me the whole time, wasn't it?"

Douglas just turned around and started typing things into the cyber desk silently.

Chase pinned his ears. "What does this thing _really_ do?" When his question was met with continuing silence, Chase let out a low, tiger-like growl. _"Douglas -"_

"As of now," Douglas interrupted, shutting off whatever he was doing at the desk, "it sets an alarm on my watch off if you pass outside the fence so that I can either send Yahn to get you or summon you back. Before you try it, it will stick around if you try to shape shift out of it. The only thing that can get it off is the key." For emphasis, Douglas shook the little key before slipping it into his pocket.

Chase's jaw dropped open as he processed this revelation. After several seconds, he spoke again, his voice quiet, yet dangerous, like the calm before a severe storm. "You put me under house arrest?"

Douglas turned around to face him, smiling uneasily as if he thought he could stop the eruption that Chase was visibly spiraling toward if he found the right way to spin the situation. "Don't be like that. Think of it as a vacation from the outside world!" At Chase's expression, Douglas frowned and tried again. "It's only for a couple of days. Just so you won't follow Oly."

Chase pinned his ears, his tail lashing furiously. All of that – coupled with Chase's flashing eyes, almost-violent trembling and loud growling – would have been fine….

However, his hands started glowing an ethereal white, a sure sign that Chase was about to unleash his fury.

Upon recognizing the danger, Douglas started backing away. He held his hands up innocently, obviously forcing a steady voice in an attempt to defuse the situation. "Come on, Chase. No need to get violent."

Yahn jumped down and ran to hide himself behind Adam's legs as Oly hid her face with her wings. Adam didn't blame them; he wanted to run for cover, too. And he wasn't even the target!

However, Chase's impending explosion never happened. After several seconds, Chase just turned on his heel and silently stalked out of the Lab through the tunnel, his tail still lashing violently as he disappeared.

A moment of silence passed before Adam pointed after Chase. "He seemed to control himself to me."

Douglas shot Adam a look, crossing his arms. "Don't you start in, too."

Adam held up his hands innocently. "Look, all I'm saying is that he and I both know that your reason is total bullshit. I don't know what your problem is – or why you would go so far as to imprison him – but he just wants a straight answer." Adam shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he'll see it your way."

Deciding that his speech would have the most impact with a dramatic exit, Adam then stood up – cradling Oly to his chest so that she didn't fall – and walked out of the Lab, leaving Douglas behind to think about what was said. In the meantime, Adam wanted to talk to the one person who could intimidate Douglas enough to possibly get the band removed from Chase's wrist: Tasha.

* * *

_"My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it."_

**Mark Twain**

* * *

_"Once you have kids, you think like a parent. You get a lot more protective."_

**Trey Parker**

* * *

**_Tasha_**

_I'm going to smack Douglas one of these days,_ Tasha thought angrily as she approached Chase's room. None of her kids were prisoners, and he had no right treating anyone in such a manner. It came across as though Douglas thought Chase was a creature that needed to be caged rather than a teenager who just wanted an honest answer. Between this and using Leo as a spy, Douglas was going to be the death of her yet.

At the very least, he was causing gray hairs to appear prematurely.

Stopping in front of Chase's closed door, Tasha took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down before she gently knocked.

"I'm pissed at you, asshat," came Chase's voice.

Tasha sighed heavily. She would have to start passing around bars of soap to wash everybody's mouth out one of these days. "Language, mister. And can I come in?"

"Sorry, Tasha," Chase mumbled. After some shuffling, the door opened to reveal an obviously upset Chase. "I thought you were Douglas."

"Even so," Tasha warned sternly as she followed Chase into his room. He walked to the bed and sat down, somehow managing to make even this small act drip with unhappiness. Tasha had come to appreciate Chase's demonic appearance in that it made reading him so much easier. For example, his ears, wings, and tail were all drooping, as if they were sad, too. It was kind of nice to have one kid openly expressing himself.

Even if it was unintentional.

Tasha sat beside him, her eyes drawn the little grey band that was, according to Adam, stuck on his wrist like some kind of dog collar. She could hardly imagine the thoughts running through his mind. The idea of being confined in such a manner was impossible for her to comprehend. So, instead of saying anything, she did the first thing that came to mind whenever she saw one of the kids in a bad mood: She pulled Chase into a tight hug.

Apparently, Chase hadn't been expecting anything like that at all. It took him several seconds to hug her back, his chin resting on her shoulder. As she scratched between Chase's wings – he started purring, an overall strange but wonderful sound – she could see where Adam and Chase were having problems accepting Douglas' reasoning. Chasey wasn't dangerous at all. Sure, he was a bit more impulsive than she remembered, but he was still as gentle as a kitten underneath everything.

After a moment, Chase pulled back and broke the silence as he thumped his little imprisoning band. "I can't believe he did this."

"I can," Tasha responded, only half-serious. In all honesty, she was quite surprised that Douglas had the nerve to do anything of the sort.

Chase let out a chuckle. "He says that he doesn't want me hurting the guy, but I don't think that's it. He knows that I can control myself."

"You wouldn't hurt anybody," Tasha agreed, patting his hand. "Good luck getting a straight answer, though." She scoffed. "If con men don't want to be honest, they'll spin a lie until you would swear that it's true."

Chase shot her a quizzical look. "How do you know that?"

Tasha grinned. "Hon', you don't meet a man like Donald without accidentally dating the _wrong_ men a few times."

Chase nodded slowly before he let out a sigh of frustration. "Whatever his reasoning, I don't get why _this_ was necessary." He held up his wrist and shook it for emphasis, causing the light to catch the band.

Tasha shook her head. "Because it's _not. _That's why it makes no sense to you. How long do you have to wear that thing?"

"He said a couple of days," Chase answered sullenly, standing up and walking towards the window to look out at the night. "I don't like that guy, Tasha. He's bad news."

Tasha tilted her head. "How do you know that?"

"I just do," Chase answered, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know how, but I just know it." Tasha readied herself to speak, but Chase seemed to bristle. He pointed out the window. "See? There he is! Who would walk around at night?! He was only supposed to show up during the day. That was his pattern!"

Tasha frowned and stood up, joining Chase by the window. Sure enough, a man was passing the fence. So that was the guy giving Chase so much grief. She had never met him before, so maybe he was new to the neighborhood? Whatever the case, he was obviously bothering Chase immensely. She rested her hands on Chase's shoulders to try and steer him away from the window - geez, he was shaking pretty hard – when the man stopped by the gate.

Why would anyone stop by the gate at night?

Chase's eyes grew gradually darker for a few seconds before returning to their hazel coloring. She would never get used to that. Why his eyes couldn't stay the same color when he was checking the planes was an unknown fact that would bother her forever. However, before she could really think about it, Chase pinned his ears and gasped, pointing at the window. "_I knew it!_ I _knew_ he was hiding something!" His tail started to twitch excitedly. "Why didn't I think of checking the planes when the sun wasn't behind him?!"

Taken aback by this sudden turn-around, Tasha frowned. "Chase, what –"

"He's _glowing,"_ Chase purred triumphantly. "I was right! He's no good!"

Tasha felt her eyes widen. "He's the man that tried to break in?"

Chase looked at her, nodding excitedly. "And I caught him on instinct. How amazing am I?"

Tasha returned her attention to the man, who looked like he was picking the lock on the gate. "Come on, Chase: We need to get him out of here."

"Wait," Chase said, stopping her. "I want to see if Adam's spell worked."

Tasha frowned, watching the man nervously. What if he got through the fence? They might be too late to drive him away. "Chase –"

The gate suddenly opened just enough the let the guy slip through. He didn't get too far, though. About two steps up the driveway, the guy suddenly doubled over and vomited several times. He dropped to his hands and knees as the illness continued until, finally, he beat a hasty retreat – well, as hasty as one could be when crawling and throwing up – through the gate again. Once outside the fence, he seemed to recover rapidly. Standing up, the man stared at the gate for a moment before he closed it and walked away, trying to eliminate any trace that he had been there.

Other than the vomit he had left behind, of course.

"Way to go, Adam!" Chase punched the air in victory. "That worked perfectly!"

"Who is that guy?" Tasha found herself asking. Like hell –

Wait, like _heck._ Oh, no; Douglas was rubbing off on her!

Anyways, she wasn't going to let the guy off the hook _that_ easily. Not when her family was involved.

"I could find out," Chase began, "but I would need this band off."

Tasha suddenly hesitated. The thought of Chase going after a guy who had repeatedly tried to break in wasn't her ideal solution. However, she forced herself to remember that he had spent his whole life training for things like this. Finally giving in, she nodded. "How do we do that?"

"Douglas has the key," Chase explained. "It's the only way to get this thing unlocked. Then, I can take Oly with me so that we can figure out this guy's game plan!"

Tasha nodded again, feeling a sly smile creep onto her face at the thought of undermining Douglas' plot to keep Chase contained. "So we need to get the key. How can I help?"

* * *

**Hey, that point of view was new!**

**I don't think I can do Tasha very well. Sigh. :( But there she is.**

**And Adam's spell worked! Yay!**

**Anywho, at least we know a little about the guy Chase hates, right? :3**

**Which means a couple of things: You'll either be yelling, "I knew it," be chewing Douglas out, or thinking of various ways to make Zara's head spin with your randomness and theories, which is always fun. :3 **

**Whichever it is, feel free to drop it in a review. Or keep it to yourself and admire it in secret. Either way, it won't bother me.**

**And enjoy.**

***Bows and exits***


	18. Chapter 18 - Like Father, Like Son

**And I come back with Chapter Eighteen.**

**:D Here we are, people. Tasha versus Douglas. It's not as volatile as one would expect, but it's in here. **

**So, let's go. Thanks to all you readers and reviewers who are sticking around. And no killing the characters! We have a story to do!**

**Mia-Teresa-Davenport:**** *High fives back***

**Gg180000:**** "Ha! Zara would never let anyone hit me there! Erm…Zara? What's with that deranged look?"**

**….Leo? Get my steel-toed boots.**

**"Holy crap!"**

**Where are you running to, punk?**

**"To get my balls of steel!"**

**You don't have balls of steel.**

**"I keep them in a box on my desk."**

**Moonlit:**** "Yes, I am. :3"**

**UnknownForNow:**** I'll let this detail slip: Tasha can't touch the ears, either. Only Adam can. Special Charmer privilege. :3**

**RissA15:**** Hellcat, explain.**

**"I don't know his name! And it would only work if he was on the internet. This guy has no trace. He doesn't exist. Also, moving something with molecularkenesis doesn't make the object intangible. Douglas would feel it moving around in his pocket."**

**Also, it's not really a secret where we are. xD**

**DarkestKing:**** We love it here. :3 Thank you.**

**"Still wondering about that nuke situation…."**

**Stop it, Douglas. You're not getting the nukes!**

**AllAmericanSlurp:**** "o_o Mind if I ****_don't_**** unleash my fury?"**

**DisneyXDGirl:**** "I'm watching you."**

**Anyways, let's do this. Leo?**

**"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."**

* * *

_"The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success."_

** Bruce Feirstein**

* * *

_"I am sick to death of cleverness. Everybody is clever nowadays."_

**Oscar Wilde, ****_The Importance of Being Earnest_**

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen – Like Father, Like Son**

**_Douglas_**

"Well?"

Bree's impatient demand drew Douglas' attention away from the smoldering puddle that used to be her phone. "That thing is dead," he informed her. "No one can repair it. It is - say it with me - _dead." _He frowned when Bree remained silent. What a buzz kill. "You didn't say it with me."

"More importantly, it's burning a hole in the counter," Donald muttered beside him, eyeing the mess.

Bree glared at Ysthry again, who had sheltered herself from Bree's rage by curling up in Leo's lap. It was an admittedly brilliant tactic. Bree wouldn't attack Leo, and Ysthry was using it to her advantage. "I hope you get a stomach ache."

Ysthry grinned. "Demons don't get sick."

"Nope," Oly confirmed from her perch on the stair railing. "Your mortal ailments are no match for our demonic superiority!"

Douglas rolled his eyes. Smug little bastards, weren't they?

"So how do we get rid of the acid, then?" Leo asked, petting Ysthry.

"Neutralize it with a weak base and scoop it up," Donald explained, still eyeing the counter. It was obviously ruined. "Then, we get a new countertop."

"Demons are going to destroy the house," Bree huffed.

"Not the _entire _house," Oly corrected. "I rather like that one room full of mirrors. I can see several of me in there."

"The world doesn't need more of you," Douglas responded.

A low growl sounded from the top of the stairs, and Oly immediately jumped off of the railing as Chase appeared, followed by Tasha. "That's _mine,_ imp."

Douglas ducked behind Donald and shoved his brother a bit towards the more-than-likely still-irate Chase. "Kill him first! I'm too handsome to die!"

Donnie dug his heels into the carpet. "Wait, what?"

"I'm not going to kill anybody," Chase responded. However, he did narrow his eyes at Douglas, who ducked a bit behind his older brother. "I wouldn't be able to run from the law. I can't leave the house."

Douglas winced slightly. It wasn't like he _enjoyed_ imprisoning Chase within the fence. In fact, he felt a bit guilty at lying to Chase about why. It wasn't that he wanted Chase to think he was a dangerous creature that needed to be contained, but he didn't want Chase to know what was really going on. He would freak out. Letting everyone know that Krane had a cyber cloak wasn't high on his list of things he wanted to do. And, with Krane being untraceable, who knew if the guy Chase had some kind of vendetta against was Krane himself, simply trying to lure them into a trap? No, Chase had to stay. Douglas had thought Chase died back in Spain, and he wasn't going to go through the hell of not knowing if Chase would come back again.

However, if Chase knew that, he would come up with so many logical arguments that Douglas would have no choice but to let him go. Therefore, Douglas latched on to one of Chase's insecurities and ran with it. Hopefully, Chase would forgive him soon. Until then, though, using Donald as a shield would suffice.

"Seriously, what?" Bree asked, frowning. "Just walk out the front gate."

Tasha crossed her arms and stalked towards Douglas, her eyebrow raised. Oh, hell: Of _course_ Chase would go running to the she-devil. "Why would you _ever_ think that trapping someone is justified?"

Douglas threw his hands up innocently. "In my defense –"

That lit the fuse. Tasha instantly began what was sure to be a long-assed, boring lecture about freedom and civil rights. However, he was spared by Oly, who snapped her beak loudly. "Good god, she's going to talk until we all die of boredom."

"Shut up, Oly," Tasha huffed.

"Hold up, guys. What's going on here?" Leo asked.

Tasha nodded at Douglas. "This _idiot_ thought that it would be a good idea to make a band that would alert him anytime Chase left the fence so that he could bring Chase back," she explained, her voice filled with anger.

Donnie rounded on him, eye blazing. "You did _what?"_

Douglas offered his brother a nervous smile, grasping at straws. "You see...I was only thinking of his..." Wait a second, why was _he_ on trial for this? "Didn't _you_ lock all three of them in the Lab with your 'Daven-wall?' At least he can go outside this time!"

"We didn't appreciate that, by the way," Bree cut in, shooting Donald a pointed look.

Douglas' tactic proved somewhat successful. Donald was suddenly defensive. "I was trying to protect them."

"Who says I'm not?" Douglas countered.

_"You _do," Chase huffed. "You keep claiming that it's to keep me from hurting that guy."

_You're not helping, Hellcat,_ Douglas thought. He wished fleetingly that he had cracked telepathy so that Chase would have been able to read the thought.

Bree pointed at Chase. "Are we talking about the fence guy? Because you _do_ get a bit crazy when he's around."

"I wouldn't hurt him, though," Chase muttered, crossing his arms.

"You take that thing _off_ of him," Tasha growled, bringing the topic back to the metallic band on Chase's wrist.

Wait, seriously? How important did she think she was? Sure, she was terrifying, but Chase's safety overrode any intimidation he usually felt when she was on the war path. He crossed his arms. "No. It's not like he's going to be stuck here forever."

That was apparently the wrong thing to say. Tasha sent him a look that would've broken the will of many a man.

Too bad Douglas was just too great to give up without a fight.

"Douglas, let him go," Donald pressed.

Douglas sighed dramatically. "Et tu, Brute?"

"I don't want Tasha beating the snot out of you," he elaborated. At least Don cared. It made a nice, warm feeling spread through him as Donald spoke again. "You'd bleed all over the carpet, and I don't want to clean it up."

The warm, fuzzy feeling immediately died and was buried upon a hill composed of lost hope and broken dreams. Of _course_ that was why. And, where many would find it a funny joke, Douglas didn't. He honestly couldn't tell if Donnie was being serious. Unfortunately, he most likely meant it.

"Give us the key, Douglas," Tasha demanded, holding out her hand.

"Yeah, Master: Give her the key!" Oly chortled loudly.

"Can it, Oly," Douglas snapped. Oly winced, but was still grinning.

"Douglas," Donald warned.

It was about this time that Douglas felt something move in his pocket. Douglas glanced at Chase, noting that his hand was twitching a bit.

Using his molecularkenesis to get the key while Tasha serves as a distraction. Smart kid, but not smart enough.

"Douglas, I _will_ take it," Tasha huffed. "One more chance: Give up the key."

Douglas caught a glint of metal out of the corner of his eye and casually closed his fist around it. He raised an eyebrow at Chase smugly, who glared back. With a half-smile – foiled again, Chasey? How sad – Douglas turned his attention back to Tasha. "Nice try. Now, if you need me, I'll be going over the next few days with Oly." He gestured at Oly. "Let's go."

Oly climbed onto Douglas' shoulder as he passed Tasha, smirking at her frustrated expression. He climbed the stairs, very aware of the eyes drilling holes in his back as he reached the top and started towards his room. Maybe Chase was losing the touch he had displayed when he conned Perry out of twenty dollars a while back. Oh well.

Out of the blue, Oly started laughing. "Half-Breed got you!"

"No, he didn't," Douglas responded with a frown. "I still have the key."

"The key is under Tasha's shoe," Oly corrected. "Half-Breed dropped it to the floor with that floating trick of his."

"But I caught it," Douglas protested. He stopped and opened his hand to show Oly. However, she started laughing harder when she saw what he was holding. Douglas himself was shocked and embarrassed.

In his hand was nothing more than a random house key that Chase had used to keep Douglas' attention when he moved the actual key to the floor.

Chase had successfully stolen the key. From _him._ He was Douglas god-damned _Davenport!_ No one was clever enough to pick his pocket before!

He didn't know whether to be proud or pissed.

"You thought you beat him," Oly laughed.

Douglas glared at her, closing his fist around the house key. "Shut up, Oly."

* * *

_"Force and mind are opposites; morality ends where a gun begins."_

**Ayn Rand**

* * *

_"There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line."_

** Oscar Levant**

* * *

**_Leo_**

Leo wished that he could join Oly and Chase on _their_ mission. According to Chase, they were spying on the glowing man.

Whoever – or whatever - he was.

That sounded infinitely better than following Summoner Hall to a so-called "special" room to learn about the new Circle. On his shoulder, Ysthry let out a sigh and shifted a bit on his shoulder, obviously fighting to stay awake. The poor imp was about to fall off of his shoulder completely. Meanwhile, Hall reached a door and finally stopped, turning around to look at Leo. "Now, I need you to promise me that you will tell no one about this. This is top secret research. Understand?"

Leo nodded, not entirely sure what kind of secret a new Circle could hold. "I promise not to tell anyone, sir."

"Good," Hall responded, smiling. He opened the door a crack. "Prepare yourself for the most amazing Circle ever discovered."

Leo resisted the urge to roll his eyes. How this Circle would differ from any other was unknown to him. It would probably be some strange new design, but that was all. Summoner Hall pushed the door open, revealing two normal Circles and something Leo wasn't expecting at all: A strange man tied up in the center of the Summoning Circle. He appeared utterly terrified, but remained silent as Hall approached the Summoner's Circle. "Come here, Leo," Hall encouraged, gesturing for Leo to follow.

Glancing warily at the man, Leo crossed the room and entered the Summoner's Circle beside Hall. "What…?"

"Watch and learn," Hall interrupted gently. As Leo fell silent, Hall began to summon an imp. Leo bit his tongue, wanting to stop Hall from summoning a demon with a man in the other Circle but knowing that they would all die if he caused the Summoner to mess up. So, despite all of his anxiety, Leo maintained silence.

A moment later, Hall finished summoning the imp. However, nothing happened. None of the usual illusions that demons tended to make when they arrived, no noise, _nothing._ Instead, the man in the other Circle shook his head very hard.

Leo tilted his head. "What happened?"

"You see," Hall explained, "when someone is in the Summoning Circle, the demon is summoned and bound _inside_ of them. The human body becomes a Circle!"

Leo felt like he was going to be sick. "So…there's an _imp_ inside that man?"

Hall nodded, grinning excitedly. "Imagine the possibilities! If a man has the willpower to control a demon, he could utilize its powers as his own!" He waved dismissively at the man in the other Circle, who was shaking his head harder and groaning now. "A normal person would likely not succeed, but Summoners would be able to due to our training in concentration, don't you think?"

The stranger groaned again. "Please get this thing out of me," he whimpered. "It's whispering constantly in my head!"

Leo felt the blood drain from his face. Krane be damned; Hall was just as unstable and dangerous. Only a _lunatic_ would think of anything as horrible as trapping a demon inside a person. And Leo felt that he needed to tell his family immediately, whether or not the information was useful.

* * *

**Holy shit, the new Circle is the human body?! That poor man!**

**What could ****_possibly_**** go wrong, right?**

**And where the fuck is Krane in all of this?! He needs to get his ass out here, right?**

**Anyways, until he does, we're here. **

**Feel free to review. Or don't. I don't mind. **

**And enjoy. :3**

***Bows and exits***


	19. Chapter 19 - Aesop's Fables

**Holy crap, Chapter Nineteen! Woohoo!**

**Who wants to learn more about this new Circle being people?!**

**Everybody?! ****_Okay!_**

**But first, I'd like to thank my readers and reviewers, who never actually cease to amuse me. :3 Seriously, you witty trolls. ;)**

**Gg180000:**** It is a bit like Hellcat, but he isn't sharing his body with a demon. It's just his more demonic sense given form. And yes. Yes, Douglas did get owned.**

**Mia-Teresa-Davenport:**** *Hugs?***

**AllAmericanSlurp:**** As opposed to hating me forever? **

**"I'm ****_very_**** clever. :)"**

**RissA15:**** "Cookies?!"**

**Adam –**

**"I want some cookies!"**

**Someone stop him. Don't you have a bat, Douglas?**

***repeatedly smacks the wooden baseball bat on his palm* "I'm on it."**

**Well? Were you right?**

**DisneyXDGirl:**** "In which case, I shall be off faking my death."**

**DarkestKing:**** It doesn't make them half-breed because…**

**Well, you'll see later.**

**Anywho, let's get on with it! Ferran?**

**"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."**

* * *

_"Without stories, we'd have even more trouble recognizing what's real."_

**Amy Neftzger,****_ The Orphanage of Miracles_**

* * *

_"Man is not what he thinks he is, he is what he hides."_

**André Malraux**

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen – Aesop's Fables**

**_Chase_**

I wanted to run that glowing asshole out of town.

I wanted to run him out of the friggin' _country,_ for crying out loud!

_Why run him out? Tear his head off and drink his blood!_

Okay, I might not like him, but that seemed like a bit much. I just wanted him gone.

Which was why I was impatiently pacing on the back porch, watching the fence. He wouldn't show up for a few more hours, but I wanted to make sure I caught him. We couldn't spy on him without knowing where he lived, right? And that involved following him.

So, alone, I paced, waited, and watched, ignoring the slight itch that was becoming more prominent in my back as I forced myself to remain fully human in appearance. I knew that I was being a bit ridiculous, but I was determined to be there when the guy came again. There was no way that I would allow him to get away with whatever he was doing. He tried to break in the night before, for christ's sake! I had to discover his plan before he acted on it. Who knew what it was? _Krane_ could be behind it, for all I knew.

I growled and paced faster, wishing that the glowing man would come a bit early today. What was the hang up? He needed to get his ass here _now._

Behind me, the door opened. I could hear someone step out onto the porch with me and close the door behind them, but I didn't pay attention to whoever it was. I was busy. Couldn't they see that?

Suddenly, hands caught my shoulders, stopping me in my tracks. "Stop pacing. You're driving everyone crazy."

_Break his hands,_ my voice hissed. _How_ dare_ he touch you?_

I sighed and shook Mr. Davenport's hands off gently. "I can't help it," I mumbled, glaring at the fence and leaning on the porch railing. "I want to know what that guy is all about."

Mr. Davenport leaned on the railing beside me, nodding his head. "You know, that guy has us all worried. It's not just you who's bothered by all of this."

I sighed. "I know."

"Also, I think Douglas might have tried to confine you because he thinks something is very dangerous about the guy. I know he's a little extreme about things, but he has his reasons sometimes. Maybe he knows something we don't."

I shot Mr. Davenport a sideways glance. Honestly, Douglas and I hadn't talked since I got the key from him and freed myself, and I had no intention of being the first one to break the silence. If he wanted to keep secrets, then let him. "He can't keep me here. Besides, I don't know what his problem is. It isn't like I haven't gone on spy missions before, and he knows that I can control myself. I don't get it. Also, if he knows something, why doesn't he just tell us instead of keeping it to himself. It would make more sense."

Mr. Davenport just nodded again, looking at the fence. After a long pause, he sighed. "Have you ever heard of Aesop's Fables?"

"A couple of times," I answered. To tell you the truth, I hadn't spent much time on fables as a kid, preferring instead to read books regarding astronomy and the like. You know, things that were actually _real_, rather than stories for children.

Mr. Davenport looked at me as he continued. "Then you've heard the one about the fox and the goat?"

I shook my head.

He sighed. "I should've told you kids those stories when you were little," he mumbled. He then looked at the fence again. "One day, a fox fell into a well and couldn't climb out. After a while, this thirsty goat came along and found the fox. 'Hey,' he called down, 'is the water any good?'

"Now the fox hid his predicament under the falsehood of cheerfulness. 'The water is very good,' he praised. 'The best I have ever tasted! You should come down here and taste it yourself!'

"The goat, thinking only about how thirsty he was, jumped into the well without thinking. When he discovered how they were both trapped, the fox suggested an escape plan. 'You rear up and put your front hooves on the side of the well,' the fox said. 'I'll run up your shoulders and climb out. Then, I'll help you.'

"The goat agreed and did as he was told. The fox jumped onto the goat's back, climbed safely out of the well and ran away as fast as he could."

"What a jerk," I interrupted, snorting.

"Beside the point," Mr. Davenport informed me. "Anyways, when the goat complained at having been left behind, the fox turned around and cried, 'You fool! If you were half as smart as your beard was thick, you would have searched the well for the way out before you jumped in.'"

Mr. Davenport went silent for several moments, so, wanting to hear the rest, I poked him. "Well? What happened next?"

He smiled a bit. "That's the end. It's supposed to teach you a lesson, not entertain."

I frowned. "What kind of lesson?"

"Can you really think of nothing?" Mr. Davenport pressed.

I sighed and leaned on the railing again. What did it mean? A fox tricking a goat to get out of a well seemed like a creative tale, but nothing relevant. The goat was stupid for jumping into a situation without any way to get out.

Wait: That was it, wasn't it? The goat shouldn't have jumped into the well without thinking it through. Stupid goat.

Another realization snuck its way into my mind. Looking at Mr. Davenport, I frowned. My voice was very quiet as I asked, "If I go after this guy without learning what Douglas is so afraid of, I would be the goat, wouldn't I?"

Mr. Davenport shrugs. "Maybe. Maybe he's just being paranoid. But it wouldn't hurt to ask, would it?"

I shook my head. "Probably not."

We stood together in silence after that, just watching the fence. It was kind of nice, to be honest. No one was discussing worrisome things or squabbling for a moment. We were just content to stand there with one another. How long had it been since any of us had been able to do that?

Of course, who would mess it up but loud, overly-excited Leo?

He threw the door open behind us, almost shaking. "Hall is _crazy!"_

* * *

_"Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him."_

**1 Samuel 16:14 ESV**

* * *

_"Mean people don't bother me a bit. Mean people who disguise themselves as nice people bother me a whole lot."_

**Unknown**

* * *

**_Bree_**

Leo was barely making sense. Apparently, whatever Hall did was incredibly unnerving. Something about demons, new Circles and humans? It was all very confusing. Even Douglas – who had the greatest chance of understanding whatever Leo was babbling about – looked incredibly confused.

"Stop," Chase growled, holding up a hand. He had finally left his obsessive pacing behind on the porch to hear Leo speak nonsense. He had his ears laid back a bit, the tip of his tail twitching. "Think about what you're trying to say, and say it when it makes _sense."_

"I agree," Bree seconded, nodding towards Chase.

From Adam's good shoulder, Yahn tilted his head. "Humans are a Circle? What are you going on about?"

Oly jumped onto the coffee table in front of Leo, who was sitting on the couch. "He's gone mad," she cooed, feigning sadness. "We need to put him out of his misery."

Tasha popped Oly behind the head from her seat next to Leo. "Stop it." More gently, she took Leo's hand. "I knew this spying thing would turn out bad."

Adam frowned and patted Ysthry's head, who was perched on Leo's shoulder. "Can _you_ explain it?"

Bree rolled her eyes. Why would Adam trust a demon to be able to explain anything without twisting it around mischievously?

Ysthry, however, nodded. "Summoner Hall and Master were in a Summoner's Circle, while some strange man was in the Summoning Circle. When Hall summoned an imp – Rathaz, I think his name was – the imp was bound inside the man rather than the Circle. He started to glow and complain about Rathaz chattering inside his head.

"He started _glowing?"_ Douglas asked as Chase's eyes widened.

Ysthry nodded. "Like a small candle that was lit."

Chase perked his ears. "Demons cause people to glow," he began slowly. Then, he frowned. "Who in their right mind would let a _demon_ into themselves willingly?"

"Sounds like you, Half-Breed," Oly teased. "Doesn't a voice whisper in your head?"

Chase pinned his ears. "I don't have a demon in me," he huffed. "I simply have a voice that won't shut up."

"Of _course_ that's it." Oly rolled her eyes.

Chase let out a low growl, but Douglas silenced the two with a look. Now wasn't the time for petty demonic squabbles. "So humans can invite demons inside of them?"

Leo gave Douglas a look. "I don't know exactly, but I think so."

"And it makes them glow?" Yahn pressed, tilting his head.

Leo nodded.

"And the guy that tried to break in – twice – glows," Tasha added, helping to list out the facts.

"Then he has a demon inside of him," Oly snorted. "Way to keep up, mortals."

"You can't stand Ferran," Douglas stated, ignoring Oly as he nodded at Chase.

"Can't stand that glowing guy, either," Bree snorted. This was just going in circles. Who cared if the guy who tried to break in was, in a sense, "possessed?"

Chase suddenly jumped up, his eyes blazing in anger. "That guy has Ferran inside of him!" he snapped, his tail lashing. Bree found herself looking to see if Chase had randomly sprouted claws. He looked like he was about to, at least. As for Douglas, he looked a bit relieved for some reason.

"So our little thief is really some guy that has an imp named Ferran bound inside of him?" Adam asked, frowning.

"Ferran's a djinni," Yahn corrected gently.

"A _stupid_ djinni," Chase muttered, crossing his arms.

"Then that man must be connected to Hall," Leo realized slowly.

"That would explain how the guy got Azazel's Bane," Douglas mumbled.

"But why would this Hall person target us?" Bree found herself asking. It made no sense. Some guy they had never met was working to get someone inside the house to do…well, to do _something._ Whatever the reason, it couldn't be good.

Leo shrugged. "I don't know. This is the first thing he's done that apparently has anything to do with us."

"Then we're back to square one," Oly declared. "We follow the guy while you stay close to Hall."

"No," Douglas suddenly said. Everyone looked at him, Bree even raising an eyebrow in question. He sighed before elaborating. "Hall might use you for his strange demon experiment." He pointed at Leo. "It's time to get out of there."

Tasha's eyes widened. "We agree on something? The world must be ending."

Douglas shot her a look. Apparently, he was still sore about being tricked out of his key the night before. However, he nodded in agreement. "The world might actually _be_ ending, if Summoners have the power of demons locked inside them to use themselves."

Leo didn't even protest. "Awesome," he said. "I don't ever want to see him again. He's _deranged._"

Bree couldn't help but agree. Keeping a demon inside your body seemed like someone was inviting trouble. Could someone even control a demon inside of them? Who could say that it wouldn't find some way to corrupt the person?

Wait; was that what happened to Chase? Did a demon corrupt him, turning him into a being that fully belonged in neither world?

Bree shook the thought pattern off. It was immensely frightening. However Chase managed to change, it didn't matter. It was done now.

"Then it's on us, Half-Breed," Oly spoke, bringing Bree back to the present. "Let's find out more about the idiot who is keeping Ferran inside of him."

"And kick Ferran's –" Chase glanced at Tasha, who was shooting him a pointed look. Censoring himself, Chase finished with a weak, " – tail."

* * *

**Well, that would explain why Chase hates that guy so much!**

**And it looks like Leo's done with his mission. Good job, Leo; hit the showers!**

**Still wondering where Krane is? Well, I could tell you.**

**But I'd rather you read it. :D**

**So feel free to review. Or don't. I don't give a flying fuck. I don't give a ****_landed_**** fuck. It's your decision. :P**

**And enjoy.**

***Bows and exits***


	20. Chapter 20 - Stalking and Stalling

**Chapter Twenty! *Cheers for no reason***

**No, wait, there ****_is_**** a reason!**

**I got a new computer!**

**See? Saving money is a good thing. :3 I feel all kinds of accomplished.**

**Anywho, enough about me. xD I'm sure you want to read the story, right?**

**Thank you, my various readers and reviewers, my various stalkers, and my lovely not-stalkers. Also, sorry about accidently aiding the generation of the fangirl army that is now taking over the review section of many stories. O_O My bad.**

**Mia-Teresa-Davenport:**** "You're not helping to discourage the Hellia faction."**

**DisneyXDGirl:**** Really? I would think it made it a bit easier.**

**For those of you who are wondering what said clue is, it is regarding Krane's demise.**

_"__Sometimes, I think I'm crumbling from the inside out. I can feel a parasite gnawing at the coffin encasing my soul and exposing the pretense of overconfidence for what it truly is – dust…."_

**Ella Schmeits, ****_Dust_**

**RissA15:**** Hey, she got it! Everyone, applause!**

***golf claps***

**DarkestKing:**** Sorry. Marcus is going to stay dead. Being crushed tends to do that.**

**Now, as for your questions, there is ****_one_**** small detail that I forgot to mention….**

**But I'll mention it later.**

**AllAmericanSlurp:**** *Takes the knife* "What a lovely weapon! It's mine now. :3"**

**…****You just got knife-jacked by Douglas…**

**Gg180000:**** I know a few cuss words in other languages, but I'm not going to teach them to you because they have a different impact among native speakers. For example, calling someone a bitch in Spanish is equivalent to calling someone a fucking c**t in English. It's not something I want to start. xD You'll be going around getting the crap slapped out of you for things.**

**(And yes, there are words even I will censor a bit.)**

**I don't think this chapter is just awesome, but the next on will be. :D Hopefully, anyways.**

**Anywho, let's do this! Mr. Davenport?**

**"****Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."**

* * *

_"__Life is only precious because it ends, kid." _

**Rick Riordan, ****_The Son of Neptune_**

* * *

_"__The past is an old armchair in the attic, the present an ominous ticking sound, and the future is anybody's guess."_

**James Thurber**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty – Stalking and Stalling**

**_Chase_**

Ferran - well, the man that had Ferran inside of him - was later than usual.

Normally, I would be pacing by the fence, irritated. However - since I now knew that Ferran could see straight through any form I took - Oly and I were waiting on the roof. I was laying on my stomach, my wings spread out wide to either side of me to stretch and warm in the sun. Oly had decided to curl up on one of my wings, claiming that my dark feathers made a nice, soft alternative to sitting on the roof itself.

I was starting to lose feeling in the wing she was laying on, but whatever. She was being quiet, and I didn't want to mess it up.

I know: Why didn't I don a human appearance while outdoors this time?

Because how many people take the effort to see everything that's on a roof? People normally just keep their vision locked in front of them, so we were fairly invisible up there.

Anyways, we waited in silence, watching the sun dip lower in the western sky and searching for signs of the man who had stupidly allowed Ferran inside of him.

Just a quick note here: Don't let a demon inside of you. Who _knows_ what crap it could pull? I could think of a few things - my voice could think of a few more - and none ended pleasantly for the human involved.

Why did you think that demonic possession is so feared? Granted, demons couldn't really possess anybody on our own, and most of the old stories about people being possessed were just people having epileptic seizures - nobody really knew what epilepsy was back then - but the point still stood to reason. If it was a good idea, more people would be trying it, no?

Oly shifted a bit, the rhinestones on her wings catching the light. "It's boring up here," she huffed.

"We could play a game," I suggested, still looking at the street.

"What game?" Oly asked suspiciously.

"Throw Oly off the roof," I answered, grinning.

Oly smacked my head with her tail. "Don't make me bite the rest of your ear off."

"Douglas would make us hold hands again," I pointed out, remembering the odd punishment Douglas had given us after Oly had bitten the tip of my ear off in an all-out grudge match long ago.

Or had it really been a shorter amount of time? Honestly, everything since the house fire had been almost a blur. It felt like it happened years ago, to someone else.

Strange, though: I had never felt that way before. It was like time was blending together, no longer separated by years, weeks, minutes, or seconds. It seemed like it just _existed_, and I was just whisked along with it.

Maybe that was what immortality felt like? Maybe time would lose all meaning for me after a few years?

Was I even immortal? Did I inherit _that_ particular demonic trait, or had it passed me by? Was I simply overwhelmed by the short period in which everything had happened, causing my mind to distort the timeline it was fixed upon? Or was an eternity within reach for me, waiting to see me on the other side just so I could tackle the next one?

Was I ever going to stop asking questions to myself?

Apparently not. But I could ask my voice, right?

_I don't know of your mortality_, my voice spoke up immediately. _Even I can't see the end until it draws near, and we have no idea when that may be._

_Since when can anyone see the end?_ I pointed out. _You're a voice, not a seer. A very violent voice, and a constant pain in my ass. But, in the end, you're still nothing but a voice._

I swore that it laughed. Stupid little voice.

_"Finally,"_ Oly suddenly huffed, snapping her beak shut loudly in exasperation.

I glanced at the fence to see Ferran's host strolling by at last.

Finally, indeed.

I pinned my ears and growled, familiar hatred bubbling up inside of me. Oly and I watched as he passed, not even bothering to acknowledge us. I had no doubt that Ferran was raging in there from my presence, too. He _had_ to be. The man hid it well, to be honest. Ferran was likely urging him to climb the fence - illness be damned - and charge me.

Because I knew that he knew I was there. He was just ignoring me, like I wasn't worth his time.

"Keep it together, Half-Breed," Oly cautioned as a low growl slipped through my teeth. "He has to be able to walk so that we can follow him."

I didn't respond, but I stopped growling.

Did I mention that I hated Ferran?

I _hated_ Ferran.

Still, Oly was right. So, instead of attempting to tear the man's head off – maybe Ferran would pop out - I waited with Oly on the roof, my tail tapping the surface irritably. On the porch below us, I could hear Tasha and Mr. Davenport talking to quietly to one another, discussing how well getting Leo out of his apprenticeship with Hall would go over. Although Douglas assured them that it would be fine before he dragged Leo off to the Council meeting that had started as Oly and I waited for the glow stick to show up – eventful day, right? Summoner training _and_ a Council meeting? Summoners were busy people, to say the least – they were both still worried. Hall _had_ just revealed a top-secret research project to Leo not a few hours ago. Losing him now would invite suspicion. However, Douglas insisted that Leo get out of the situation right then – not even bothering to attempt to arrange a private meeting with Summoner Hall, which would likely result in wounded pride when it was brought up publically - so away they went.

Douglas may have denied it, but I honestly thought that he liked Leo.

We waited until Ferran – and the guy that contained him – passed by our home and the two next to it before Oly and I started following him, turning into ravens to avoid detection by humans.

Time to find where he was hiding.

* * *

_"__Dispute not with her: she is lunatic." _

**William Shakespeare, ****_Richard III_**

* * *

_"__Baby, you're a firework! So just explode and die, bitch."_

**Unknown**

* * *

**_Adam_**

Leo was right: Summoner Hall was a nutcase.

A genius, but a nutcase.

Douglas and Leo had talked to the man as privately as they could before the meeting, promising not to bring up the termination of Leo's apprenticeship in the meeting to spare anyone any embarrassment.

Too bad Hall didn't keep his promises.

He played the martyr well. Even Adam felt a bit sorry for him after his monologue about how he wasn't good enough to teach a student any longer.

Yahn sat on Adam's good shoulder while Douglas and Leo were enduring an onslaught of questions from Hall and other Council members alike.

"You just became apprenticed! Why are you leaving?"

"Councilor Hall is one of the finest Summoners in North America. Why would you not want to learn from him?"

"Are you _stupid?"_

The demons around the room, however, were watching with amusement. Adam stood quietly among them – he was still banished to the back, as the Councilors had yet to accept that a Charmer could be an ally instead of a potential threat – as they whispered amongst themselves, occasionally chuckling when their master got involved. They didn't understand what the big deal was, really. Humans had the right to pick and choose their masters. Why not exercise it? However, a few acknowledged what Hall was doing and vocalized it to Yahn, which was how Adam came to appreciate the situation for all it was worth.

Hall had backed Leo and Douglas into a corner. If Leo didn't continue his apprenticeship, he would be insulting Councilor Hall greatly – alienating quite a large portion of the Council in the process and possibly destroying any chance of a different apprenticeship further down the road – which would not bode well for him. However, if he stayed with Hall, Leo would seem spineless, like someone who couldn't make up his mind and stay with it. And what kind of Summoner was indecisive? Demons certainly weren't, so Summoners couldn't be, either.

However, Hall was most likely concerned with Leo keeping his secret research…well, a _secret._

Adam was glad that he wasn't in the situation himself. He would have issues deciding with so many people yelling at him. Leo looked a bit scared, to be honest.

Douglas, however, was the very definition of standing one's ground. He denied continued offers to reconsider, speaking for Leo since the kid seemed to be tongue-tied.

On his shoulder, Yahn shifted a bit. "I don't like this," he whispered. "I think Summoner Hall is stalling rather than trying to get Leo back."

Adam frowned. "Why?"

"Because most of the time, Summoners handle this kind of thing in private," Yahn explained. "Especially Hall, as he has a reputation for keeping private matters out of the public eye. However, now that the Council is stirred up, the meeting is taking much, much longer than usual."

Adam furrowed his brown. While it was true that the past hour had been spent discussing Leo and Hall, Adam couldn't think of a single reason as to why Hall would be stalling. What was he hoping would happen? Was the sky going to open up and shoot rainbows at everyone?

Wait, could the sky do that? That would be _awesome._

Adam, however, didn't have to wait all too long for the real answer to the question. Rather, he didn't have to wait for what he assumed was the answer, since it was essentially the only other thing going on in the room. Near him, a man walked through the door.

More importantly, it was the man that Chase claimed had Ferran locked inside of him.

However, the person of most interest was the second man who walked in behind him.

Looking like some kind of demented bounty hunter – complete with an eyepatch – Krane strode into the room.

Adam hoped that Chase and Oly at least had the good sense to run back home when they saw the mystery man join Krane, because Adam sure as hell didn't want _more_ family members in the now-dangerous situation.

* * *

**Who saw it coming?**

**Don't be shy; speak up. I don't bite hard. ;)**

**Anywho, Krane's back with an epic eyepatch. **

**Like a pirate hooker. :D**

**But you'll have to come back next time to find out what happens. **

**So feel free to review. Or don't. :P Me no gives crap.**

**And enjoy.**

***Bows and exits***


	21. Chapter 21 - Lord Soad

**Chapter Twenty-One! What's Krane gonna do?!**

**I'm too excited for a long author's note, so I'm going to keep this short.**

**I'd like to thank my readers and reviewers before noting that this chapter gets remarkably horrifying towards the end. You were warned. :3**

**Gg180000:**** Lol I play the Rockstar game "Red Dead Redemption" and love lassoing people just to drag them behind my horse until they die. :P…Are we bad people? O_o**

**DisneyXDGirl:**** "I'm dead, see?" *lays flat on the floor with his eyes closed and his tongue sticking out to the side for good measure***

**Mia-Teresa-Davenport:**** "Lol I'm still not getting anyone talking to me about it, so it's a you problem. xD"**

**AllAmericanSlurp:**** "Lay off the tail! I need that for showing irritation and balancing while I fly!"**

**DarkestKing:**** "I will not be getting you any launch codes this evening, sir. :3"**

**Also, I think you'll rather enjoy the ending of this chapter.**

**UnknownForNow:**** This whole situation is about to turn out bad. **

**Let's get on with it! Leo?**

**"****Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."**

**Good luck.**

* * *

_"__No two persons ever read the same book." _

**Edmund Wilson**

* * *

_"__I always say that modernization is not an abstract thing; it's a very specific task."_

**Dmitry Medvedev **

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-One – Lord Soad**

**_Chase_**

Ferran and Krane.

That about figured. Jackasses traveled in packs, right?

And, finally, we found a connection with the Council as the two entered the building in which the meeting was being held.

Oly and I landed outside, still appearing as birds to avoid detection, and stared at the door. "At least we know that the Council is more corrupt than everyone thought," Oly noted.

I pecked her head sharply with my beak. "Not the time for jokes," I hissed.

"I'm just trying to lighten the mood before everyone dies," she defended.

I glared at her. "We're _not_ going to stand around out here while everyone is slaughtered!"

"What are we supposed to do?" Oly huffed. "Fly home and get Azazel's Bane?"

I chirped excitedly at the idea. "Yes! That's perfect! Go get it!"

Oly ruffled her feathers a bit. "Can't. Master told me not to let you out of my sight."

Damn it, Douglas! "Fine. Then find a phone, call Bree and get _her_ to bring Azazel's Bane."

"I can't do that, either."

"Why the hell not?" I huffed.

Oly buried her beak in her wing and mumbled something even I couldn't hear, obviously embarrassed.

I glared at her. "Speak up."

Her head shot up, and she fixed me with a hard look. "I don't know how to use a phone!"

I stared at her for a second before responding. "You don't know how to use a phone?" When she shook her head, my feathers ruffled up. "You're over _3,000 years old._ You should know how to use a fucking _phone!"_

"I never had to before," she snapped. "I usually go back to my master or wait to be summoned when I have a message I want to give him."

I resisted the urge to kick something. Not that I would do much damage with my raven feet, but it would make me feel better. Using a phone seems like a skill she should have learned in case she needed it.

_Why?_ My voice asked. _She has no one to call from the Otherworld, and she has an eternity to wait for her master to call her back. She has no use for that skill._

Damn it, the thing had a point.

I sighed. "You're going to learn today, then. We just have to find a phone first."

* * *

_"…__A threat for a threat leaves the whole world terrified. Blow for blow never settles the score. Word for word, it's time we clarify: We the people did not want war…"_

**Flobots, "Stand Up"**

* * *

_"__Sometimes, I think I'm crumbling from the inside out. I can feel a parasite gnawing at the coffin encasing my soul and exposing the pretense of overconfidence for what it truly is – dust…"_

**Ella Schmeits, ****_Dust_**

* * *

**_Douglas_**

Leo's sudden wish to leave Summoner Hall's apprenticeship was met with some discord. Oh, if only they knew what the "upstanding" Hall had done. Douglas would have _loved_ to tell them - to incite a political rebellion against Hall simply for the hell of it - but Hall would know then that Leo had told.

So, while Leo seemed to want nothing more than to disappear, Douglas gave answers to every question he heard.

Even if it was nothing but sarcasm or random bullshit.

"You just became apprenticed! Why are you leaving?"

"Last I checked, we were still in this room. No one has left yet."

"Councilor Hall is one of the finest Summoners in North America! Why would you not want to learn from him?"

"I would explain it, but I only have two crayons and a puppet. We'd need more for you to understand."

"Are you _stupid?"_

"Are you _high?"_

Obviously, he was making enemies, but messing with them was just too much fun. If it stopped their questions, then he was going to do it. Beside him, Leo glanced around at the door as it opened. Douglas ignored the sound, not caring that some idiot was late to the meeting.

Summoner Hall, however, was very interested in the person who had entered the room. He appeared relieved and excited as he gestured towards the back. "You are late."

"It's _Krane," _Leo hissed in Douglas' ear. "Krane and that guy Hellcat hates."

Now _those _were idiots Douglas cared about. He glanced back over his shoulder as the room fell silent, biting his cheek to keep from laughing at Krane's new eye patch.

Nicely done, Oly. Nicely done.

Krane narrowed his one good eye at Douglas, but did nothing else. The other man – the "glow stick," as Chase called him – spoke up. "We were delayed by traffic. _You _try crossing a street with hundreds of cars."

Smartass.

Hall, however, nodded as if it was a perfectly reasonable excuse. "You're here now. That's all that matters." He made a sweeping motion towards everyone. "Might I present the very epicenter of my latest research: David Burnett." At this, the man who bothered Chase so much smiled a bit and waved politely. After a second, Hall went on. "He is the living proof that demons can be controlled beyond the level they currently are."

Around the room, demons against the wall started scoffing and muttering amongst themselves. They weren't inclined to believe that they could be controlled better. Summoners still had trouble with them even though their wills were bound.

Apparently, some of the Council shared their skepticism. An older member raised her hand. "Summoner Hall, are you proposing that demons could be cured of their mischievous ways?"

Some polite laughter travelled through the Council. Hall smiled at the woman. "Not at all, Ms. Donna," he answered. "I am saying that there is a way to make their powers our own."

The demons along the wall started laughing out loud. Loud hisses and orders for silence restored order in seconds.

Hall gestured towards Krane and Burnett. "These two approached me with the idea a few months back. So, as you know, I hired some people to research further into demons and Circles until, a few weeks ago, I finally found the answer." He paused and dropped his voice, leaning forward for dramatic effect. "I have discovered a new Circle. One that allows us to use a demon's powers as our own. You see, the human body can become a Circle itself, trapping the demon inside. If someone has a strong enough will, they can control the creature and use its strength."

This whole speech was met with horrified and morbidly curious silence. Even the demons along the walls were listening more intently, no doubt already thinking of ways to twist the information to their advantage. Douglas, however, was fuming a bit. Hall had used him to do research on Krane's behalf. It was like Krane had played a game with him.

Nothing to be done about it now, though. "And how, pray tell, does a human become a Circle?" Douglas asked, hoping to throw Hall into a monologue that allowed time to think. Krane was unlikely to let them leave alive, after all.

Hall grinned. Usually an irritatingly cheerful thing, Hall's smile bore a kind of maniacal glee this time. It was a tad unnerving. "One simply has to stand in the Summoning Circle. It's quite simple, really."

Douglas couldn't keep track of how many Councilors blanched at this revelation. Standing in the Summoning Circle was essentially the first thing they were warned against when they had learned to summon. Leo himself looked like he was going to be sick.

"What's to stop the demon from eating someone in their Circle?" an apprentice pointed out, frowning.

Hall glanced at the young man. "Because the demon is inside the person. Allow me to show you." He gestured at Krane. "Sir, since you set this marvelous discovery in motion, would you like to demonstrate?"

Krane nodded, his one eye gleaming with madness and lust for power. Douglas shuddered, wishing that he had seen the insanity before he ever did anything to give Krane power. "Yes," Krane answered, his voice laced with glee. "I want to do it with Soad."

A collective gasp of fear and reverence from the demons along the wall made the hair on the back of Douglas' neck stand on end. This demon – whoever he was – was obviously very powerful. From the corner of his eye, Douglas saw Yahn bury his face against Adam as he trembled. On Leo's shoulder, Ysthry squeaked and his her face under her wings.

The Council had apparently caught on, the younger members looking at the older ones for explanation. However, Hall grinned. "Feeling strong, are you? Very well. Let's get a few of you to help me draw the Circle, shall we?" When no one leapt forward, he sighed and gestured at two demons. "You two are helping me then. And you're not allowed to mess up the lines, the incense, or any other part of this. Understood?"

With a bit of muttering, the two afrits stepped forward to help.

While Hall and the demons cleared out a large area for the summoning, Krane grinned and stepped towards Leo. Douglas set his jaw and turned to face his former friend in crime, now turned enemy in his quest to rule the earth. Keeping himself carefully between Krane and Leo, Douglas crossed his arms. "What?"

Krane didn't lose his maniacal smirk. "You and your family are first."

"How do you even know that you'll be able to use Soad's power?" Douglas challenged.

"Yeah," an apprentice agreed from nearby. "How do we know you won't just turn into a holding cell for the creature?"

Krane glanced back at Burnett, who had been silent up to this point. Burnett gave a smile and raised his hand. After a second, a bolt of white energy shot from his fingers, hitting the wall across the room. While everyone gasped in astonishment and renewed fear, Krane turned his attention back to Douglas. "We can use it."

Douglas felt like his throat was about to close as he took an involuntary step back. Krane was already strong. Having a demon's power would render him unstoppable. "We won't let you do this," Douglas hissed between his teeth, somehow sounding more confident than he really was.

Krane spread his arms wide, his face lighting up with triumph. "You can't stop me. This is months in the making. It's too late."

"Then why would you try to get rid of us before?" Leo asked shyly, peeking around Douglas. "Why didn't you wait until now? Because it seems like a waste of effort."

Douglas noted that Adam was sneaking towards them, keeping himself hidden as best he could from Krane's view. With a broken arm, the kid was probably going to end up failing at whatever plan he had formed, but Douglas decided that it was all they had. "Leo has a point," Douglas agreed.

"Magicians use a trick called sleight of hand," Krane explained, his voice condescending. "If I kept your attention on one thing, you wouldn't see me doing this."

The great Douglas Davenport, fooled by sleight of hand. The shame!

Adam was almost upon Krane. In the background, Burnett was watching this with his head tilted curiously. It was strange that he wouldn't help his ally. Yahn jumped to the floor to get out of the way when Adam let out a loud cry and charged.

The second Krane heard Adam, the psycho was across the room, his hands raised. Adam was frozen mid-stride, shock written on his face. Douglas frowned and tried to move when he figured out that he couldn't move himself. Leo whimpered beside him, obviously discovering the same thing.

Maybe it had been a bad idea to give Krane molecularkenesis.

"Anyone else want to challenge me?" Krane growled.

The Councilors and apprentices alike all shook their heads, some even backing away from them.

Wonderful; now Krane would have no one to stop him. He would get whatever power Soad offered and easily crush everyone in the room, if the reactions of the demons were anything to go by.

Douglas sighed in defeat. This entire situation sucked.

Several minutes passed as Hall and his demons drew two extraordinarily ornate Circles to summon Soad. Whatever his standing among demons, Soad was at least as powerful as Joraed. The thought was frightening. Krane was going to have all of that at his disposal soon. Douglas swallowed hard. "Sorry, guys," he mumbled quietly to Adam and Leo. It was his fault, after all. He had created the monster that was Krane, had given him the strength he needed to set the entire thing in motion.

Adam frowned. "I'm sure Krane hid his craziness well. Hall obviously hasn't seen it."

"Hall is crazy himself," Leo muttered. "What do we do?"

"We can't do anything," Douglas informed them, struggling to keep his voice from breaking. He felt like he could cry at the injustice of it all. "Krane wins."

"He can't win," Adam huffed. "Good guys always win."

"Grow up, Adam," Douglas found himself hissing. "Good guys only win in fairy tales! In reality, the world is run by those clever enough to take advantage of the weak and helpless."

When Adam's face fell, Douglas immediately regretted shattering the illusion that Adam had been living in his entire life. The idea that bad guys always lost, that kind heroes would prevail in the end, the stupid romantic notion that all evil was doomed to failure was all just a falsehood, put forth by parents who were trying to get their children to behave and believed by people who didn't want to see the world for what it was: Evil, cold, and violently cruel.

His innocent ideology destroyed, Adam didn't say anything else.

Instead, it was Leo who spoke. "Maybe the bad guys keep winning because everyone fights fire with fire. If acts of violence are met with more acts of violence, then who is the good guy?"

Leave it to a scrawny teenager to give Douglas a different perspective on just about _everything._ Douglas opened his mouth several times to refute the statement, but always had to close it again. Leo was right. If everyone was attacking each other, then everyone was the enemy. To him, the government and Christianity were his foes. However, to them, _he _was the bad guy. Douglas had seen Donnie as the enemy after taking his children away, but Don had seen _him_ as the threat.

Well, at least he learned something mind-blowing before he died.

"That will do it," Hall declared, inspecting the Circles. He nodded at Krane. "I'll get the book. You can step into _this _Circle now." Hall gestured at the larger of the two Circles, indicating that it would be the one that contained Soad.

Krane grinned at them tauntingly and strode across the room towards the Circle, carefully stepping into it without smudging the lines. The entire time, he held his hands up, binding the only three who had tried to stop him in place. Hall returned after a moment with an old book, opening it up and flipping through its pages before he found what he was looking for. Stepping into the Summoner's Circle across from Krane, he smiled at the Council. "Now watch."

The summons was ten minutes long, filled with complicated words and phrasing that Douglas had a hard time understanding. Soad was apparently very, very old on top of being a powerful entity. During the time when Hall was speaking, the entire room was filled with silent tension. However, just as Hall prepared to speak the final words, Krane became excited enough to lose focus. Douglas found himself rapidly gaining the ability to move. "Ysthry," he hissed, "Can you move?" When the imp nodded, Douglas felt ecstatic. "Go stop Hall!"

"How?" Ysthry asked.

Leo, obviously upset by what he was about to say, answered her question. "Sting him."

Douglas was surprised. He hadn't thought that Leo had the kind of foresight – or mental strength - required to order something like that. He had basically passed a death sentence on Hall, obviously realizing that there was no other way to save everyone. If Hall finished, then Soad would be trapped in Krane. But, should Hall be stopped and escape, then he could try again.

His murder was drastic but necessary.

Ysthry shot across the room, her little wings beating frantically. However, it was too late. Just as Ysthry entered the Summoner's Circle and whipped her tail around to sink both of her stingers into Hall's arm, Hall uttered the final word.

Douglas had to admit that he was morbidly curious as to what Ysthry's venom did. However, he wished he hadn't seen it. Hall fell to the floor just as Krane did, both screaming in agony. However, where Krane twitched and clutched at his head, Hall went still after several seconds, blood pouring from his mouth, nose, eyes, and the wounds Ysthry had created in his arm. A crimson lake formed around the now deceased Summoner Hall, adding a horrifying backdrop to whatever was happening with Krane and Soad as Krane finally went silent. He twitched several more times in the span of a few minutes, and no one dared to move. It was a horrifying scene to watch.

Ysthry flew back across the room to land on Leo's shoulder, sniffing at the tears streaking down her Master's cheeks. Leo would likely be plagued forever by what he just had Ysthry do. Douglas patted his shoulder as he watched Krane's body. Was it possible that Soad was too powerful to be contained inside the human body? Was Krane about to fall apart at the seams, so to speak?

However, Krane went entirely still for a second – a slight bit of blood running out of his mouth - before sitting up. He rose to his feet and dusted himself off, glancing around the room with confusion in his eyes. After a second, he laughed. It was a horrifying sound, one that sent visible chills down everyone's spine. When he spoke, his voice was much deeper than it had ever been. "My will isn't bound! I'm free on this plane!"

Burnett bowed. "Lord Soad!"

Around the room, every demon – including Yahn and Ysthry - fell to their faces on the floor, bowing before Soad as Douglas realized exactly what had happened.

Soad had eaten Krane's brain and was now free to use his body as he wished.

_Lord Soad was free on Earth._

* * *

**And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why Summoners can't control jack shit when they let a demon inside of them. xD Sneaky little guys will destroy your mind and take over.**

**Hopefully, you enjoyed Krane's death. Killed by his arrogance. What a way to go. :P Of course, now everyone's fucked because Soad is here to play.**

**So, DisneyXDGirl, were you right?**

**Also, poor Leo. He's going to have to live with that forever. If Soad doesn't kill him, that is.**

**Anyways, you'll all have to wait until next time to find out what happens!**

**So, until then, enjoy!**

***Bows and exits***


	22. Chapter 22 - This World is Mine

**After that last chapter, who's expecting a fight?**

**It's not in this chapter. This one's just revving it up.**

**In fact, I'm not endlessly fond of this one. But it's here and the next chapter is gonna rock, so what can ya do?**

**I would like to thank all my readers and reviewers. :3 Apparently, the fangirl army has moved on to a new target. Yay!**

**Mia-Teresa-Davenport:**** "Then threaten them with a visit from Hellcat. He tends to shut people up."**

**"…****Shut up, Douglas."**

**Gg180000:**** I'm getting to the Charmer thing. xD**

**AllAmericanSlurp:**** "D: Where's my sarcasm in that conversation? I have ****_tons…_****and I would love to be scratched between the wings." *Purrs***

**DisneyXDGirl:**** *Dives between the katana and Douglas, his wings outstretched and his tail lashing* "Wait! We need him! After the story, go nuts."**

**"…****You should be a nurse, Hellcat. You're so ****_fucking_**** caring!"**

**DarkestKing:**** "I'm sorry, are you trying to tell me what to do? Lord Soad cannot be contained by the whims of someone I've spoken with a few times. As for destruction, I am pleased by this. :3"**

**So, let's get on with it! Lord Soad?**

**"****Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers. And I own her, so everything that's hers is mine."**

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_"__Freedom lies in being bold." _

**Robert** **Frost**

* * *

_"__Together, they would watch everything that was so carefully planned collapse, and they would smile at the beauty of destruction." _

**Markus Zusak,****_ The Book Thief_**

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**Chapter Twenty-Two – This World is Mine**

**_Chase_**

I wanted to kick Oly. Seriously, I just wanted to beat some modernization into her. It took about twenty minutes for her to learn how to use a phone. _Twenty minutes! _And it was because she wouldn't stop asking questions.

"So…which end do I talk into?"

"The bottom one. Just hold it like this."

"And I press the buttons to get Bree on the other line?"

"Yes. Wait, don't push random buttons!"

"But I'm supposed to push the buttons!"

"_Specific ones! In order!"_

Long story short, I was never teaching another imp how to use the phone.

However, for as long as our ordeal lasted, Bree arrived in less than thirty seconds with both Azazel's Bane and The Arm of Raziel. "Has Krane done anything?" she asked immediately upon stopping in front of us.

I shook my head. "I have no idea. We haven't seen him because _someone –" _I looked pointedly at Oly – "didn't know how to use a phone."

"Kiss my ass, Half-Breed," Oly huffed.

"Focus," Bree hissed as she handed me The Arm of Raziel.

I shook the staff at her. "Why did you bring this? How did you even get it past Tasha?"

Bree shrugged. "If we needed Azazel's Bane, maybe we would need The Arm of Raziel, too. Besides, Tasha and Mr. Davenport went for a walk to clear their heads a bit. Apparently, staying at home was making them anxious."

I nodded, lowering the staff. "Then let's go kick Krane's ass."

Bree looped Azazel's Bane around her neck and nodded. "What's the plan?"

"Wing it!" Oly declared, leaping away from the phone and charging out the door.

After a second, I shrugged. "We wing it."

Bree rolled her eyes, but followed anyways as I trotted from the room and into the hallway. As quietly as we could, we approached the door that lead to the Council meeting and, most likely, Krane. Hopefully he hadn't killed anybody in the time we had wasted. That would just suck.

Oly waited by the door, her arms crossed as she tapped her foot impatiently. "Hurry up, idiots," she hissed. "Do you want him to kill _everybody?"_

I resisted the urge to kick her, instead opting to growl. "Let's just get this over with."

Bree rolled her eyes again and pushed past me, opening the door a crack and peeking inside. Almost immediately, she backed away, her face paling with horror.

"Bree? What's going on?" I asked, dread rising in me. What had caused a reaction like _that?_

"Krane and some other guy," she whimpered. "So much blood."

Whoa, what? "Did Krane kill someone?"

Bree shook her head. "I think he's hurt, too. He's twitching on the floor."

"That's a good thing, isn't it?" Oly asked, jumping onto my shoulder.

_Isn't it?_

I lowered my ears, ignoring my voice. "I don't know. But we should probably find out what's going on in there."

When Bree nodded, I opted to be the one who opened the door this time. Carefully, I turned the knob and pushed the door open only to be hit with the almost overwhelming scent of blood. Summoner Hall lay amid a pool of liquid crimson, obviously murdered somehow. Krane, however, was on his feet. Whatever had been wrong with him earlier had obviously passed. Subconsciously, I checked the planes. The jackass I couldn't stand was obviously glowing – I'd take him on later, though. More importantly, _Krane_ was glowing, lit up like a torch. Ignoring us, he let out a dark laugh that sent chills down my spine and caused the fur on my tail to fuzz up.

_Lord Soad! _My voice supplied. _The great Lord Soad is here!_

No fucking way. No one could be _that _arrogant, _that _stupid –

"Lord Soad!" Ferran declared, bowing.

Krane, for all his intelligence, was a fucking moron.

Much to Bree's surprise, I dropped to my knees and bowed low before Soad, Oly jumping off of my shoulder to do the same. Bree might not have understood it, but Soad made Joraed look like me on the power front.

Soad – in Krane's body – looked around at everyone. "Now, where am I?" he asked, his voice far deeper than Krane's had ever been.

Ferran straightened out slightly. "This is a meeting of the Summoner's Council," he explained, his words dripping with disdain. "You wouldn't remember, Lord. You ate the mortal's mind, destroying his memories."

Of all the scenarios I had come up with that resulted from letting a demon inside of you, I hadn't come up with that one. My voice had, though. So the idiots who had let a demon inside of them were long dead now. That seemed like a fact worth knowing, right?

Soad looked around some more before growling with annoyance. "I can't change forms in this body," he huffed.

"My lord, humans are not made of essence," Ferran explained.

Soad snorted loudly. "I suppose it is a fair sacrifice for free will in this world," he said at length. He strode forward, looking everyone over. The Summoners – Leo, Douglas and Adam included - all seemed to shrink back from him as he approached. He passed them slowly, grinning at their fear. Finally, on the other side of the table, he stopped and turned to face them fully. "The Council," he began, his voice falsely sweet. "The ones who were supposed to make the rules and enforce them. The ones who thought they could control us." He laughed, which was the demons cue to laugh which him. I dutifully chuckled on the floor. Honestly, he was right: What hope did mortals have of controlling something far more powerful than themselves?

_Arrogance has always been a weakness of mankind,_ my voice agreed.

Soad grinned. "Your kind are nothing but fools, and you who think they can control us are more foolish than the rest! A few of your members even invited us willingly into themselves, thinking that they could keep us contained. You are nothing but_ Yalan ustaları_, masters of lies."

I caught Oly nodded at this.

After a moment of silence, Soad began to walk the perimeter of the room, where we demons remained bowing. He allowed his eyes to rest on each one of us, as if sizing up his competition. He paused at me. "_Mələz? _Curious."

Recognizing that he was calling me a hybrid, I nodded. "Yes, Lord Soad."

"How did this come about?" he asked, tilting his head.

I shook my head. "I'm not sure."

"And do you regret it?" he asked gently. "Do you ever find yourself wishing that you were one or the other? Do you ever want to fit in to a single role instead of two?"

I thought about it. Given the chance, would I give it up to be human again? I would be less dangerous to those I cared about. I glanced at Adam's broken arm, feeling guilt rise up in me a bit. If I had just left that stupid portal alone, than none of this would have ever happened. I would be at home with my family, and everyone would be much, much safer because of it.

_But, if it had never happened, _my voice reasoned, _than nothing that lead to this moment would have occurred._

I wished that I could be rid of my voice, but it was right. If I had left that portal alone, we wouldn't be here. I never would have been summoned by Douglas, and nothing that happened after that would exist.

"I regret nothing, my lord," I finally answered. "Everything is for a reason."

Soad seemed amused by this answer. "You are content to let fate drag you through time?"

I shook my head. "I am content with where it has left me now."

Even if it was in an extremely dangerous situation.

Soad nodded thoughtfully before he started walking again.

Bree dropped to her knees beside me, bowing herself now. "Are you really content?" she whispered.

"Are you not content?" I challenged quietly.

After several seconds, she answered, "If I could change anything, than we would have lived different lives this past month or so."

I nodded. "Exactly."

She glanced at Soad. "So, what do we do about him?"

I sighed. "The only thing I can think of is to hit him with The Arm of Raziel," I responded. It should have been powerful enough to take him out. "The only problem is that we can't use it. You saw what happened in Italy when Douglas and Mr. Davenport tried to use it."

Bree frowned. "But what if you could use it?"

"I can't activate it," I answered. I didn't know how to use the words to fire the stupid thing up.

"But Douglas can," Bree reasoned. "If you can get him to activate it –"

"Soad wouldn't give us the opportunity," I hissed.

"But what if Adam could distract him long enough?"

"We would still have to get to Adam," I pointed out.

Bree rolled her eyes. "I _am _the fastest person on the planet."

I glanced at Soad, who had made it to his Circle again. He stopped to speak with an afrit, who was trembling. "Don't get killed," I responded finally.

In an instant, Bree was on her feet and across the room, whispering in Adam's ear. Soad glanced around at the breeze she had created only to narrow his eyes at them. "What are you two doing?" he huffed, striding towards them rapidly. "I didn't say that you could gossip amongst yourselves."

"I hope you know what you're doing, Half-Breed," Oly muttered beside me.

I hoped so, too. Adam looked utterly terrified as Soad approached them. Yahn jumped up from bowing on the floor and dove behind Adam as he basically squeaked, "I'm sorry."

Soad paused. "A Charmer?" he noted, almost purring.

Adam nodded, paling visibly. Behind him, Bree slid Azazel's Bane off of her neck and passed it to Douglas, who appeared very confused as Bree started to whisper the plan to him.

Soad grinned. "Tell me, then: How is it that you first discovered your gift?"

_Come on, Adam,_ I thought. _Think of something!_

"Well," Adam began, his voice shaking, "I was walking home from school –"

"What is this 'school'?" Soad interrupted.

Adam frowned. "School sucks," he answered. He launched into a rant about how boring school was compared to everything else, which was somehow enough to keep Soad captivated.

Awesome!

I scrambled to my feet and scurried to Douglas, who had passed Azazel's Bane to a visibly upset Leo. Resolving to discover what his problem was later, I let Douglas take hold of The Arm of Raziel. Keeping my hands on it, I watched for any signs of opposition as Douglas began to whisper rapidly.

Only Ferran had the nerve to move without asking Soad's permission. Frowning, he started towards Douglas and I. I pinned my ears, but resisted the urge to jump down his throat as Douglas started speaking faster. The Arm of Raziel started to warm up underneath my fingers, a sign that it was coming to life. Hopefully, I could control it. If not, than Soad was likely to murder us all for even trying anything. Ferran drew closer, growling now as he walked. Douglas better hurry, damn it! I wasn't aiming to be eaten today!

Suddenly, the staff started glowing a bit. I felt like I was about to be thrown across the room as the imps inside it started to stir, which resulted in my panicking a bit. I could feel them fighting me, fighting Douglas. Even together, we couldn't control it!

Well, goodbye, cruel world. Maybe existing in Soad's belly wouldn't be so bad.

However, we were saved by an unlikely hero. Just as Douglas managed the last words, Ferran snatched the staff away from us.

So, instead of us being thrown back, _he _was.

With a yelp, Ferran went down, sliding across the floor as he let go of The Arm of Raziel. The staff clattered loudly as it landed, echoing throughout the room and forcing even Soad to pay attention now. He glared over his shoulder at Ferran, who was trying to get up. Without a word, Soad raised his hand and shot off a bolt of energy far brighter than anything I could ever generate. With a loud scream of agony, Ferran and his body disintegrated and came to rest on the floor as a dusting of ash.

Yay, Ferran died! I won!

My elation at Ferran's demise was short-lived, though. Soad turned his attention to us. "Why the hell was he fucking around?"

I lowered my gaze reverently. "Ferran was a moron, my lord."

Soad nodded. He then brushed past us, obviously done with Adam. Jumping onto the table in a surprising show of agility, he raised his hands high. "Well, _Grand Council_," he mocked, "You will be honored to know that you're the first ones to die." He grinned. "This world is _mine_ now, as it always should have been."

"Wait, Lord Soad!"

At Yahn's shaky voice, Soad glared at us.

Hiding behind Adam's leg, Yahn started again. "My lord, these people think that they are heroes. Wouldn't it be better if you killed them _last?"_

Clever little Yahn. Buying us time by acting like he wants us to suffer. I almost hugged him.

Soad considered this for a moment before grinning maliciously. "You're a cruel one, imp."

"Thank you, my lord," Yahn squeaked.

Soad raised his hands again. "Thanks to this clever little beast, you now get the honor of dying _last._ You'll see everything destroyed with the knowledge that you're helpless against it." He gestured broadly. Who wants to join me? Who wants to perish with their masters?"

Almost every demon jumped to their feet, either eager for conquest or fearing for their lives. Honestly, I was shocked that Oly stuck to us. Global domination seemed right up her alley. A few Councilors tried to order their demons back, but Soad stopped them with a loud challenge that seemed to shake the very foundation of the building. "Tell them what to do, mortals! I _dare_ you!"

The oh-so-brave Councilors fell silent, sheer terror on their faces.

Soad jumped off the table. "Very well. The rest of you shall watch as I tear the world in two." With that, Soad strode forward and threw the doors open, his small army of demons following without being ordered to.

Several moments passed before anyone had the courage to move. Who knew if Soad would change his mind? However, not even paralyzing fear lasted forever, as an apprentice proved when she broke the silence. "Summoner Hall killed us all, didn't he?"

Murmurs of both agreement and disagreement filled the room. For some reason, a few Councilors refused to see that both Hall _and_ Krane had caused this. Krane had the idea, and Hall set it in motion.

Of course, none of them knew about Krane until he had shown up a short while ago.

Oly started to pull on my tail to get my attention. "What now?"

I lowered my ears a bit. "I don't know." Those words were physically painful to say, but they were true. "We couldn't control The Arm of Raziel together, and neither could Ferran. We can't use it.

Adam scooped up the staff as Councilors began to figure out just which demons had remained loyal to them. A few bolted out of the room to call loved ones while others prayed. Still others debated why this was happening and whether or not they should have gotten into summoning in the first place. The Council was supposed to set and enforce rules of summoning. However, when something went wrong, they devolved into useless idiots without a battle plan.

Useless, the lot of them.

"Look," Douglas began, taking charge of the situation. "Obviously, we're on our own here." He glanced around at the various Councilors and rolled his eyes. "I don't know what we're going to do, but I know that we can at least go out with a bang, right?"

_Go out? Run! This man intends to get you killed!_

I ignored my voice as Leo spoke up, his voice shaky. "How?"

Douglas shrugged. "We have The Arm of Raziel and Azazel's Bane. Let's follow Soad and see what we can come up with between here and there."

"Where is 'there,' anyways?" Bree asked.

Oly shrugged. "Probably the closest place to burn. Likely the park around the corner." She smiled a bit. "That place would go up like a tinder box."

Bree suddenly paled. "Mr. Davenport and Tasha are at the park! It's where they were going to walk!"

Adam winced, still holding the staff. "Then we should probably go. _Now."_

* * *

**What? Zara, don't end it there!**

**Too bad. :P The chapter was getting long.**

**Anywho, Soad is gathering an army! :O *gasp* Who's ready to bow down before their demon lord?**

**No one? Good. :3 Because he'd likely just eat you.**

**Anyways, the fight you were probably expecting is going to happen in the next chapter, so stay tuned! Until then, feel free to review. Or don't. I don't give a crap. :P**

**And enjoy.**

***Bows and exits***


	23. Chapter 23 - Sacrifice

**Behold, Chapter Twenty-Three!**

**Finally, we get to fight Soad!**

**Honestly, I don't like how this one turned out compared to the other fights these guys have had. I blame it on the large-scale location these guys are in this time.**

**Anyways, I'd like to thank my readers and reviewers. Without you, Hellcat would be very sad inside. :3**

**Mia-Teresa-Davenport:**** "I'll fix it." *Nails the door shut* "There ya go. :3"**

**RissA15:**** I'm just going to go hide….**

**DisneyXDGirl:**** "I found you something else to stab, but I want to wait until the end of the chapter to give it to you. :3"**

**DarkestKing:**** "You know that I can get all of these you offer easily on my own. :3"**

**Let's do this, guys. Hellcat?**

**"****Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."**

* * *

_"__This is how sudden things happened that haunted forever." _

**Daniel Woodrell****_, Winter's Bone_**

* * *

_"__Those who choose differently must suffer the consequences. They must take the pain their decisions bring." _

**Sachin Kundalkar****_, Cobalt Blue_**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty – Three - Sacrifice**

**_Bree_**

The chaos that ensued when a pack of rogue demons attacked spread as rapidly as wildfire. Literally; Soad was lighting every building he came across on fire.

Bree was running herself ragged as she put them out by creating a vortex. She might have been the fastest person alive, but even she had a limit. For every fire she put out, Soad lit two or three more.

And, as if that wasn't enough, Soad's impromptu army was doing damage on their own. They tore fences and sheds down while sharpening their claws on the outside walls of various homes and businesses. Some even took it upon themselves to drag the occupants out into the street to "play."

Here was where it helped to have a pied piper of demons. Adam would talk the creatures into letting their victims go.

Meanwhile, Chase, Douglas and Leo were searching for Tasha and Mr. Davenport amongst the mayhem. Leo clutched Azazel's Bane in his hands like it would transport him away from the entire situation if he squeezed on it hard enough. Chase was snapping and snarling at imps to move them out of the way, his fangs bared. Douglas held tight to The Arm of Raziel, his knuckles actually turning white. "Oly, Yahn! Find Tasha and Donnie."

Both imps jumped out from their hiding places behind him and scrambled into the crowd, searching for the wayward couple. Ysthry started to circle above the crowd, scanning everything with her keen eyes.

For a fleeting second, Bree wondered how skeptics were going to explain _this_ one away. It would be hard to play it off as a bizarre mafia attack or something.

Douglas started to look increasingly troubled as seconds passed. Don't misunderstand; _everybody_ looked terrified. However, the expression on Douglas' face generated an uneasy feeling in the pit of Bree's stomach. As she watched, he tried to tighten his grip on The Arm of Raziel even further, as if it was the only thing anchoring him to the earth. Maybe it was: He looked like his mind was a million miles away.

"Mom!"

Leo's excited cry snapped Bree out of her musing state to find Leo gesturing wildly through the crowd. Nearby, Tasha and Mr. Davenport were scrambling towards them, ducking low to avoid flying debris. Leo almost bolted towards them in obvious relief, but Ysthry stopped him by barreling into his chest and forcing him to stumble back a bit. Before Bree could find out what the imp was even doing, the world seemed to explode. Bree found herself thrown backwards several feet, her flight ending in her sliding along the pavement as she landed on the road near the park. The unyielding surface scraped away her skin in so any places that she couldn't keep track. However, it didn't matter. Adrenaline numbed most of the pain.

Her ears ringing, Bree scrambled to her feet and looked around. The approaching nightfall made everything harder as dark shadows crawled out over the area, hiding everything they could. Harder to deal with than that, though, were the now hundreds of people who were now affected by this effect. Strangers screamed and ran by, some of them injured in the explosion. A few were clutching injuries and calling out the names of their loved ones, seeming to ignore the demons playing around them.

At least the news wouldn't have a problem passing the whole thing off as a terrorist attack now.

The first person Bree saw – and cared about (the scene was now far too large and chaotic for her to be playing hero) – was Chase, covering his ears with a pained expression. Near him, Leo was lying flat on his back, Ysthry sitting on his chest. Douglas was stumbling around a bit by them, shaking his head to regain orientation.

She didn't see anyone else.

"Azazel's Bane!"

Soad's low voice reached her through the crowd, sending chills down her spine. She saw him striding towards Leo, his single eye lit up with glee. Near Leo, Azazel's Bane was gleaming in the grass.

If Soad got it, then they were all screwed.

Bree readied herself to charge for it when she noted a second equally-terrifying sight: A large demon bearing down on Chase. The two – Azazel's Bane and Chase – were too far apart for her to save them both, even with her superior speed.

She only had a split-second to decide between saving her little brother or stopping Soad from gaining invulnerability.

Her heart leapt into her throat as she made her decision. Charging forward, she scooped Azazel's Bane off of the grass and out of Soad's clutches just as Chase let out the most horrifying scream of pain she had ever heard.

Some sister she was.

* * *

_"__Last day of the rest of my life; I wish I would've known 'cause I would've kissed my mama goodbye. I didn't tell her that I loved her and how much I care, or thank my pops for all the talks and all the wisdom he shared. Unaware, I just did what I always do every day, the same routine before I skate off to school. But who knew that this day wasn't like the rest? Instead of taking a test, I took two to the chest…."_

**P.O.D, "Youth of the Nation" (Song trigger warning: Suicide)**

* * *

_"...__You murdered and you stole, you mocked the hope I gave! Though I'd prefer a happy end no man can cheat the grave. I know what they'll remember in the words of every song. What will they say about you when I'm gone…?"_

**Heather Dale, "Hero"**

* * *

**_Chase_**

Could I just say that having half of your tail and a good chunk of your leg muscle completely ripped away from you fucking _hurt?_

Luckily, I managed to notice the afrit in time to dodge and avoid losing my leg entirely.

The problem with that, though, was that I was still losing blood rapidly. The afrit seemed satisfied with the wound – I would likely die within the next ten minutes or so – and went on to a better target, leaving me to bleed out as opposed to giving me a quick death.

Lucky me, right? Instead of having my throat torn out, I got the joy of bleeding out. How generous of him.

"Half-Breed!"

Oly popped out from behind me while a hand came down on my shoulder. "Hellcat!"

Yay! Douglas didn't die! I leaned on him a bit. "Is everyone else okay?" I asked.

"Leo is unconscious, but fine," Douglas answered. "Bree is up and running. I don't know about Donnie, Tasha or Adam."

I nodded grimly. "What the hell was that?"

"I don't know that, either," Douglas answered.

"I think Soad found a natural gas line and lit it up," Oly supplied helpfully.

I found myself leaning on Douglas a bit more as I nodded, feeling a wave of dizziness wash over me. "We're not going to win this, are we? Soad's going to destroy the world."

Douglas bit his lower lip, obviously conflicted about something. After a second, he looked at me. "Go make sure Leo is okay and put pressure on your leg."

"Master? We're ready," came Yahn's voice from nearby before I could respond. The imp jumped onto Douglas' shoulder.

"Ready for what?" I asked. When Douglas didn't answer, I pinned my ears. "_Douglas –"_

"He's going to destroy The Arm of Raziel by releasing the imps inside," Oly explained for him. "Since no one can use it, it's the only thing we have left that can destroy Soad."

My breath caught in my throat. "But that's a suicide mission!"

Douglas fixed me with a hard look. "I started this the day I agreed to give Krane bionics. I'm going to end it the only way we possibly can."

My head was spinning now, but I couldn't tell if it was from blood loss or the thought that Douglas was prepared to die to stop Soad. "You could use Azazel's Bane," I protested.

"It will absorb too much power," Yahn responded quietly.

"It's the only way, Chase," Douglas said quietly, not using my nickname this time.

I watched as Bree started towards us, Azazel's Bane in her hands and Soad shooting energy bolts at her repeatedly, each one rendered harmless by the amulet. Making one of the hardest decisions I ever had to in my life, I called out, "Bree! Go to Leo and make sure you, he and Ysthry are all touching Azazel's Bane!"

Bree frowned. "But-"

"Just do it!"

She hesitated, but turned and headed towards Leo. She crouched beside him and situated the amulet so that she and Ysthry were touching it while it draped across Leo's hand. Douglas thumped my ear. As I pinned them and hissed, he snapped, "Go with them!"

"_No," _I responded. "I'll die before any kind of medical help gets here, and you know it. I want to go out on _my _terms."

Douglas stared at me for several seconds before he sighed heavily, knowing that I was right. He offered the staff to me. "You're a brave kid, Chase."

I rested my hands on the staff as Oly climbed onto my feet. With Soad still launching useless attacks at Bree, Douglas began to speak in that strange gibberish that Summoners used. The wards that had contained the imps within Azazel's Bane for so long began to fade away. I could feel the little demons' excitement as they realized that they would be freed. And there we stood together for a moment as he released ward after ward, bind after bind until we knew that only one or two held the staff together. "Let go, Chase," he requested gently.

I released The Arm of Raziel as he did the same, now only holding the staff in his right hand. He looped his free arm around my shoulders and sighed. "It's been a hell of a ride, kid," he said sadly.

I nodded, leaning heavily against him now. My leg was sticky and wet as blood ran down it, but that no longer mattered. At that moment, only one strange thought bothered me. "Douglas? What happens after we die?"

Douglas smiled. "Christians say that you go to Heaven. My religion says that we go to Summerland, which is essentially the same place. But wherever it is, I bet it's better than _this_ dump."

I grinned. "So, I'll see you there?"

"I'll see you there," he answered with a nod. With that, he started to release the final bind on the staff. And, as the world around us vanished in the brightest flash of white I had ever seen, a final thought crossed my mind.

I _really _wished that I had been able to see Hessdalen Valley and Røros one last time.

* * *

_"__If you have a sister and she dies, do you stop saying you have one? Or are you always a sister, even when the other half of the equation is gone?" _

**Jodi Picoult,****_ My Sister's Keeper_**

* * *

_"__I guess that's just part of loving people: You have to give things up. Sometimes you even have to give them up." _

**Lauren Oliver,****_ Delirium_**

* * *

**_Adam_**

His cast was nothing but shards on the ground, shattered when the explosion sent him flying into a tree. Despite the fact that the healing bones had popped back out of place and sent waves of pain from the tips of his fingers to his shoulder – and several other scratches and bruises – he was relatively unscathed.

Adam had a feeling that he was only making his broken arm worse, though, as he was using both arms to sift through the rubble that had separated him from Tasha and Mr. Davenport. Whether or not that were just unconscious and had landed somewhere farther away or were buried under pieces of twisted metal and broken drywall, Adam wasn't going to let a broken bones stop him. Adrenaline numbed quite a bit of the pain while he ground his teeth, fighting to ignore each little shift the bones made beneath his skin. Honestly, if his mom and dad were suffocating under debris, digging them out was worth the pain.

For all his effort, though, he had wasted his time on the pile.

Tasha was the first to find him. She was stumbling, an angry gash on her forehead that formed the origin of a thin stream of blood that ran down her face. "Adam," she coughed, wincing. "Where is everyone else?"

"I don't know," he answered honestly.

"I'm right here."

Mr. Davenport's voice was a relief to hear. The man was pulling himself upright with the support of a car, a nasty wound spanning the width of his chest. However, since he could still breathe, it probably wasn't _too_ bad, right?

"I see Chase and Douglas," Tasha declared, pointing.

Sure enough, both Chase and Douglas were standing about fifty feet away, leaning on each other. Before he could call out to them, though, The Arm of Raziel exploded in Douglas' hand, both vanishing into the epicenter of a blindingly bright light that engulfed Soad and several other demons as well.

And, as fast as it appeared, it was gone.

A shallow crater marked where the light had touched, the only evidence that anything had happened at all. If he hadn't seen it, he never would have guessed that the light even touched anyone. There were no bodies; rather, everything that had been in the light's blast had simply vanished, as if they were vaporized.

Including Chase and Douglas.

Tasha let out a strangled cry as Mr. Davenport yelled something Adam couldn't really hear. He was too busy with the stupidest, most childish, and most important thought he could have been having at that moment: He thought of the shards of his broken cast.

Chase had never signed it. And now, he never would.

* * *

_"…__Let your life be your dream; integrity, honesty. It's too late for me. Don't look back 'til you're free to chase the morning...Yield for nothing..."_

**Alexa Vega (feat. Sarah Brightman, Nancy Long), "Chase the Morning" **

* * *

**"****Zara! No! You killed them off?!"**

**O_o Why are your eyes all red, Adam?**

**"****That was my little brother, bitch! Hey, DisneyXDGirl, I don't know what target Chase found for you, but I vote that you use Zara."**

**"****I second that."**

**Bree! Stop!**

**Okay, so maybe I deserve some stabbing. :P**

**However, before you get endlessly mad at me, remember that there are one or two more chapters to this story, and I promise to make it worth your while.**

**So, until then, lock me in the torture chamber or whatever you tend to do whenever someone kills Chase.**

**And enjoy.**

***Bows and exits***


	24. Chapter 24 - Heroes

***Claps hands together and rubs them excitedly* Let's see what love we got from our fans today!**

_"__NO GOD DAMN IT…"_

**Loud. :P**

_"…__what the actual fuck…"_

**I'm starting to notice a pattern…**

_"…__They better not be dead. Cause if they are, *sharpens katana*"_

**Woo! A threat! \o/ Doing something right!**

_"…__If you don't find a good way to end this book, I will torture you and bring you to the brink of death…"_

**Ye Gods!**

_"…__YOU WILL BRING CHASE BACK. HE IS A DEMON. HE WILL LIVE FOREVER LIKE YAHN. PLUS, IT SEEMS LIKE HE'S PART CAT. CATS HAVE NINE LIVES. HE WILL LIVE. HE WILL SIGN ADAM'S SECOND FUCKING CAST AND HE WILL MAKE A STUPID SARCASTIC REMARK ABOUT IT TOO. HE WILL SHOW UP IN THE LIVING ROOM WITH HIS HAIR LOOKING FABULOUS AND HIS RAVEN WINGS GLEAMING. _

_" __OR MAYBE DONNIE WILL TRY TO MAKE ANOTHER PORTAL TO GET CHASE BACK AND HE'LL COME THROUGH THE PORTAL. _

_" __MAYBE WHEN HE DOES HE'LL BECOME FULLY HUMAN AGAIN._

_" __UGH BUT HE WAS SO COOL AS A DEMON._

_ "__THE POINT IS HE IS COMING BACK AND HE IS LOOKING FABULOUS DOING IT. OTHERWISE MY KNIFE WILL LOOK FABULOUS AT YOUR THROAT. HE IS A BOSS ASS BITCH AND HE'S GONNA COME BACK LIKE ONE._

_But Douglas probably won't..."_

**Best. Rant. Ever. I started laughing, I loved it so much. xD And that last bit about Douglas? At least we know how much you loved ****_him. _****(Not very. xD)**

**So nice to see the loving, peaceful community come together. :3**

**Anywho, I'd like to thank all my readers and more-than-irate reviewers. XD I promise, this will all be worth it in the end.**

**Mia-Teresa-Davenport:**** o_o Please don't banshee-scream in the reviews. You'll break the pixel windows.**

**j. liz. 8: **** ":c Thanks."**

**DisneyXDGirl:**** …I kind of want to see if you'll actually stab me with that thing…**

**AllAmericanSlurp:**** I feel like I should know that acronym, but I don't. Anything more than four letters is something I don't put time into learning.**

**DarkestKing:**** You can goad him all you want, but he's dead. Won't really accomplish much.**

**Guest:**** I love you. Seriously. E-marry me. We shall deliver our vows in caps lock. :P**

**So, without further ado, I vote that we just do this. Leo?**

**"****Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."**

* * *

_"__Your hand's upon a dead man's gun and you're looking down the sights. Your heart is worn, and the seams are torn, and they've given you reason to fight._

_"__And you're not gonna take what they've got to give, and you're not gonna let them take your will to live. Because they've taken enough, and you've given them all you can give. And luck won't save them tonight. They've given you reason to fight…"_

**Ashtar Command, "Deadman's Gun"**

* * *

_"__Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie. Where the coyotes wail, and the wind blows free. And, when I die, don't bury me beneath the western sky on the lone prairie…."_

**William Elliot Whitmore, "Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie"**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Four - Heroes**

**_Leo_**

Leo sat at the cyber desk, Ysthry curled up in his lap for a nap while he absently rubbed her back. He was staring at the open space in the middle of the Lab, his mind wandering aimlessly. Where Leo used to practice summoning anytime an opportunity presented itself, he no longer cared to. He couldn't bring himself to draw a circle or even light a candle anymore. Not after what happened with Krane, Hall and Soad. He had lost the desire to learn that ancient art. In fact, the only reason that Ysthry was still around was for Adam's sake. He had tried to summon Yahn – and Oly, in a last-ditch effort to have at least _one_ of the gargoyles they were so used to having around - but the imps wouldn't come. Ysthry was the only one left.

No one tried to summon Chase. They knew he was dead. Apparently, everyone but Leo had watched him die with Douglas two weeks ago. The empty Circle would just be a devastating reminder that no one was ever going to see the two again.

Leo ground his teeth, wishing that he could turn back time. Maybe none of this would have happened if he hadn't told Ysthry to sting Hall. The image was still hauntingly fresh in his mind, and he hated it. Maybe losing a few family members was divine retribution for murder. Who knew?

Ysthry gave a loud sigh and buried her nose even further under her wing, her eyes closed as she dozed off again. Leo scratched at the base of her wings gently and closed his own eyes.

Leo was unsure how long he sat there - he had been trying to think as little as possible every chance he got - but when he _did_ open his eyes again, he found himself looking at his mother. She was standing near the elevator as if awaiting permission to approach him. It was always like that now. Everyone kept their distance if someone looked like they wanted to be left alone. It was odd to Leo. The family used to be so close that they would mourn together. Although it might just be him; he wanted to be left alone to his thoughts and guilt. They were his cross to bear, after all.

Leo smiled at his mother as much as he could, an expression she reciprocated as she finally entered the Lab proper. "We're ordering pizza," she began. "You want anything specific?"

Leo shook his head as Ysthry shifted a bit in his lap.

Tasha's smile became strained. "But you _love_ inventing new topping combinations."

"I just don't feel like it today," he responded. Honestly, he had no desire to do it again. Inventing new pizzas had been something he did with Adam and Chase.

"Adam said the same thing," Tasha sighed, finally frowning.

Leo shrugged in response.

Tasha sat in the chair next to him and sighed again. They sat together in silence for a moment before Leo decided to speak. "Did they even say goodbye?"

Tasha shook her head. "I think they didn't want anyone to stop them."

"They killed themselves without having the decency to say goodbye," Leo huffed, feeling tears gathering in his eyes. "What kind of person does that?"

"I miss them, too," Tasha said gently.

Leo shot her a sideways look. "Even Douglas?"

Tasha smiled slightly. "He was a pain, but he kept things interesting."

Leo smiled slightly. "No kidding."

Tasha took Leo's hand. "They died to stop Soad. They're heroes."

"I know," Leo acknowledged. "That still doesn't help, though."

"Then would this?" Tasha reached into her pocket and pulled out a small envelope. Leo noticed that it was addressed "to the Davenport family" as Tasha handed it to him. "No one else wanted to open it. I figured that I would ask you before I just opened it myself."

Sighing, Leo took the envelope. It was probably just another letter from somebody offering condolences. Even though he'd had enough of those, he knew his mother was only trying to cheer him up by giving the thing to him.

Probably because he liked letters. They were like little surprise presents in an envelope.

Biting back a sigh, Leo tore a bit of the corner off and stuck his pinkie finger in the rip, using it to open the rest of the envelope. Bracing himself for a slew of apologies, he pulled the paper out and unfolded it. As soon as he read it, though, the note slipped from his fingers and drifted to the floor. As for Leo, he couldn't believe what he just read.

He'd cracked. He was losing it. It wasn't _possible_.

"Leo? Are you all right?" Tasha frowned and rubbed his back, her voice tinged with a bit of alarm at his reaction to the letter. Ysthry raised her head as Tasha leaned down and picked up the paper Leo had dropped. After several seconds, she gasped, and Leo _knew_ that he had read it right.

_We're in a hospital in Røros, Norway. Since I can't figure out how to geo-leap again, we need someone to come get us. And hurry! Douglas keeps flirting with the nurses and Oly and Yahn are playing with all the medical equipment!_

_Love,_

_Chase_

* * *

_ "__They'll say, 'We stared into the wind that tore away our breath! We left behind a message that cannot be claimed by death!' A hero lives forever for the ones that carry on…."_

**Heather Dale, "Hero"**

* * *

_"__And now I know the only compass that I need is the one that leads back to you..."_

**Jamie Lidell, "Compass"**

* * *

**_Bree_**

The five minute run to Røros was five minutes too long. How she was going to find Douglas and Chase once she was there was still anyone's guess, but the sooner she got there, the sooner she could start the search for her wayward family members.

Night had fallen in Røros by the time she arrived. It was quite disorienting, since it was daytime back in California. More importantly, it made finding the hospital much more complicated.

Not that she could ask for directions. She didn't speak Norwegian.

With a frustrated sigh, she pulled the jacket she had been clever enough to bring tighter around herself and started walking along the streets. How big could Røros be? She would have to run into the hospital at _some_ point.

Her logic proved sound when she came across a building with unintelligible writing and a medical cross. Biting back a squeal of victory, she walked into the building, forcing herself not to run. The inside of the building was deliciously warm, and her numb fingers were grateful for it as she strode up to the desk. The receptionist looked up at her and smiled before speaking.

In fucking _Norwegian._

Great. Just great. _Now _what?

"I'm looking for Douglas and Chase Davenport," Bree said slowly, hoping that the woman understood her.

The lady frowned. "English?" she asked slowly, the word thick with accent. When Bree nodded gratefully, the woman turned to one of her coworkers and started speaking in that strange-sounding Norwegian language again.

It took a few moments – Bree was tapping her foot impatiently – but a translator finally arrived. He smiled at Bree. "Hello, ma'am. May I help you?"

Bree nodded, relieved to hear the man speak English (even if it was with an accent). "I'm looking for my uncle and brother. Chase and Douglas Davenport?"

The man nodded and relayed this to the receptionist. A few passing nurses blushed and grinned upon hearing the names. It was like Bree had said the name of their crushes. Suppressing the urge to shudder, Bree forced herself only to pay attention to the typing sounds that filled the air. After a few seconds, the receptionist spoke to the translator, who turned back to Bree. "We are sorry, but they were released two days ago. Is there anything else we can do for you?"

Damn it! Bree swallowed hard. "Any idea where they went?"

The man frowned and asked the lady behind the desk, who shrugged and relayed something back. "There's nothing definite," the man finally answered. "However, her friend's daughter runs a hotel, and there are rumors that an American man and his son just checked in. Would you like the address?"

It was better than nothing. Bree nodded, and the man wrote something down. "Thank you," she said before turning on her heel and walking out the door, not waiting on a response. In the outer lights of the small clinic, she read the address and closed her eyes, programming it into her GPS. Within seconds, she was speeding towards the center of town. She came to a stop outside of a cheap-looking hotel and wrinkled her nose at the thought of anyone staying there. However, she pushed her way through the door and made her way to the desk, hoping that her lead panned out.

The night manager was doing something on the computer when Bree walked up, his fingers moving rapidly on the keyboard. "Do you speak English?" she asked immediately.

The man glanced at her, appearing irritated that his task was interrupted. "Yes."

"Is my uncle here? Douglas Davenport?"

She could hear the eye roll he held back as he answered, "Let me check." After some typing, he nodded. "Room 117."

"Thank you," she responded.

The man nodded curtly and returned to his work.

As for Bree, she was practically jogging up the hallway that held the rooms, reading them as they flitted by with increasing excitement.

_111…113…115…117._

She froze at the door and knocked three times. She was aware that they were probably asleep, but she didn't care. And, to her immense joy, she found that she had been steered right when a sleepy argument from inside the room reached her.

"Hellcat, go get the door."

"You're closer, dipshit."

"You're younger. It'll be easier for you to get up."

"Not anymore, it won't. Besides, age before beauty."

"We're going there, are we? What happened to respecting your elders?"

"You're – wait: Can't you just make Oly or Yahn do it?"

"Don't volunteer me, Half-Breed!"

"And Oly volunteers herself! Go get the door, Oly."

"No good, lazy sons-of-bitches…." The muttering went on for a moment as the door locks started to click and loosen. Finally, the handle turned and the door swung open, revealing an irate Oly flying around eye level. "It's just that Bree chick," she huffed. "What a waste of my time."

A quick flurry of sounds came from the darkened room, followed by the light switching on to reveal Chase, who was almost bolting towards her.

With only half of a tail and a limp. An awkward, noticeable limp.

Bree felt a surge of guilt as he hugged her tightly, purring louder than she'd ever heard. "It's about time," he teased as she hugged him back. Over his shoulder, she saw Douglas sitting on the edge of the bed, rubbing his eyes with one hand. Her breath caught in her throat when she noticed that his right hand – halfway up to his elbow – was completely gone. As Yahn jumped onto his shoulder, he finally stood up and smiled. "I'm surprised that the letter got to you guys this soon. I was expecting at least another week."

Chuckling slightly as Chase pulled back, she strode over and did something she never thought she would do: She hugged Douglas. He seemed totally surprised – frozen, even, for a moment – but he finally hugged her back. She smiled and pulled back before punching him in the arm.

Douglas recoiled, rubbing his shoulder as if it actually hurt. "What the hell?"

"Don't _ever_ make us think that you're dead again!" she snapped. "We had your funerals and everything!"

"Hey, Hellcat's the one that figured out how to geo-leap," Douglas defended. "I thought we _were_ going to die!"

"Don't pin this on me," Chase responded. "_You're_ the one that programmed geo-leaping into our chips."

"Our?" Bree echoed, arching an eyebrow.

Douglas shrugged. "All three of you are supposed to be able to geo-leap. You're on your own as to figuring out how to do it, though."

Bree rolled her eyes. "Anyways, get packing. We're going home."

"Pack what?" Oly pointed out from the kitchen. "These two bums have nothing but the clothes on their backs. Lucky us, they actually _wash_ them on occasion."

As Chase cuffed Oly upside her head, Yahn pointed at the kitchen counter. "Really, all you have to do is get that, and we're good to go."

Bree looked around to find some blueprints on the counter, laid neatly in order. It had complicated numbers and formulas on it, some pointing to a poorly-drawn hand. She tilted her head. "What are those?"

"Plans for a cyborg hand," Chase answered, scooping them up. "It's how we passed the time while waiting for you."

"I thought you could draw really well, though, Douglas," Bree noted, frowning.

Douglas seemed to deflate a bit. "I was right-handed."

Bree instantly winced, trying to avoid looking at Douglas' missing limb. "Sorry," she mumbled, embarrassed.

"It just takes some getting used to," Chase responded.

"Seriously," Douglas continued. "It's fine." After a second he gestured at the door. "So…are you good to go now, or do you want to wait a minute?"

Bree grinned and offered her arms to Douglas and Chase as Oly climbed onto her shoulder. "I think everyone else would be mad if we kept them waiting."

* * *

**Hold the god-damned phone! It says right here in the script that you two died!**

**"****Really? Because ours says that we ****_didn't."_**

***Looks at the script* Since when does writing the words "did not die" in crayon work?!**

**"****Apparently, Adam knows something that we don't. Right, Adam?"**

**"****The power of crayons! :D"**

**…**

**They cheated death through crayons. **

**Anywho, since they didn't die, I suppose I have one last chapter to write. :P**

**And that last chapter is it. The Hybrid series will end. No amount of whining, foot-stamping, begging or fangirl army attacks will change that.**

**However, there is some good news.**

**Hellcat will still be here. He'll exist in the occasional one-shot that will come out when I'm so inspired.**

**Light at the end of the tunnel, right?**

**Anyways, feel free to review. Or don't. I don't give a crap. **

**And enjoy. :3**

***Bows and exits***


	25. Chapter 25 - Home

**Chapter Twenty-Five. The last one of the ****_Hybrid_**** series.**

**It's a serious moment, indeed. It marks the end of Krane's reign of terror and the beginning of a new adventure, no?**

**Seriously, I'd like to thank all of you guys. :3 Without anyone to support us, this story would likely never have been finished. You rock.**

***Points at random readers***

**And ****_you_**** rock.**

**And ****_you_**** rock.**

**But not you. **

**Kidding. You rock, too. xD**

**I had a hard time writing this chapter, and I still don't think it came out perfectly. But it came out good enough, and that's enough for me. :3**

**Mia-Teresa-Davenport:**** "Missed you too?"**

**AllAmericanSlurp:**** Hail the crayons!**

**RissA15:**** Damn, don't hurt yourself. ._.**

**j. liz. 8:**** "But…I thought I did good. :c"**

**It's okay, Adam. We still love you.**

**DisneyXDGirl:**** Indeed, I do.**

**Guest:**** And I like to let you believe that. :3**

**DarkestKing:**** "Wow. ._."**

**"****O_o Thanks."**

**Yes, I'm afraid that, upon the ending of this, the army that has plagued us will have to move elsewhere. And, by proxy, so will we. :3 Thank you for letting us stay here. We'll be sure to visit.**

**So, who wants to do the last one? Hellcat?**

**"****Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."**

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_"…__I won't let you crack when the devil's on your back. Living on the fumes and you can't breathe; dancing on the edge of tragedy. When the road is dark and you're running on empty, I will be your gasoline…"_

**Caitlin Crosby, "Gasoline"**

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_"__The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned."_

**Maya Angelou**

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**Chapter Twenty-Five - Home**

**_Chase_**

You know, I never quite understood why people cried when they were overjoyed. I mean, Tasha and Adam started the waterworks when Bree arrived at home with us in tow. Mr. Davenport looked like he was on the brink of tears himself. It was way strange. If they were happy, why the crying?

I supposed that it was something I'd never understand.

At the same time, I was sure that my shimmering form probably freaked them out a bit. So we were even.

I could've done with less hugging, though. I swore that Leo alone almost crushed my ribs. Douglas drew the line there, squirming out of hugs that lasted too long or were too tight. It just wasn't in his nature to be _too_ physically affectionate. I let them hug me for as long as they wanted, though. We _had_ died, after all. It turned out to be a good twenty minutes before I was allowed personal space again, but I figured that it was worth it. As for Yahn, he settled onto Adam's shoulder, both grinning massively. Oly sat on the back of the couch with Ysthry, both deciding to stay out of the reunion.

However, as with all things, the ecstatic hugging and tears simmered down after a while. It was then that Bree asked what happened to us. Everyone had a morbid fascination with it, especially when it came to Douglas' missing hand and my new limp.

Honestly, it was a simple tale: Douglas had destroyed The Arm of Raziel - which burned off his hand - right when I thought about Røros and somehow activated my geo-leaping ability. We scared some people shitless when we randomly showed up in an alley and stumbled into the street, confused and getting blood everywhere. Lucky us, though, they didn't see us until I managed to look human.

The almost two weeks that we spent in the hospital was a blur to me. As I had to remain human in appearance constantly, I had been basically writhing in pain by the end of the first day. The doctor's solution? Pain killers. _A lot_ of pain killers. I was in and out of consciousness so often that I actually lost track of time. According to Douglas, a couple of mischievous imps kept my bionics from being discovered in x-rays while this was happening. Scans that were irrelevant or showed anything conveniently went missing. How they got anything done was a miracle. However, when I was coherent enough to be helpful, Douglas and I began work on a cyborg hand. We couldn't fix my problem – my limp would likely become less pronounced, but it would be there forever; the afrit had done a lot of damage – but we _might _have been able to fix his by replacing his missing hand.

Mr. Davenport and Leo were keenly interested in this. My kindergarten drawing of a hand – I literally just traced around my own because I was bad ass at art – had them almost laughing, but the formulas and the like spoke for themselves. Mr. Davenport in particular studied it, asking several questions and making a few suggestions here or there. This caused the Davenport brothers to vanish into the Lab after about ten minutes, eager to start inventing the thing.

It was about this time that I caught Bree avoiding my eyes every time I looked at her. She would look at her feet guiltily, like she was a little kid who had been caught stealing a cookie. I perked my ears in her direction. "You all right?"

This prompted Tasha, Leo and Adam to look at her, confused at my question. Bree just sighed heavily. "It's my fault you have to limp. I got Azazel's Bane instead of getting you out of the way."

Several long seconds of silence filled the room before I found myself laughing. "I can live with a limp. If you hadn't kept Azazel's Bane away from Soad, we would all be dead. _Then _how well would I walk?"

_You would walk perfectly fine if you hadn't been an idiot and stayed behind, _my voice pointed out. _You should have gotten out of there and let the old fool kill himself._

I flicked my ears dismissively. I had chosen right, whether or not my voice agreed. Besides, it had been perfectly quiet at the time.

Oly snorted. "Smart ass."

As Tasha casually knocked the imp off of the top of the couch on "accident," Bree finally looked at me. "So you're not mad?"

I grinned. "I have better things to do than be pissed at you for saving our asses."

Tasha pointed at me. "Watch your language."

I winced. "Sorry."

Leo decided to take the conversation over at this point, rubbing Ysthry under her chin as she climbed onto his shoulder. "Hey, Mom? Didn't you mention pizza earlier?"

My stumpy little half-tail twitched excitedly as I perked my ears. "I just heard something about pizza?"

Tasha chuckled. "All right. Come up with your strange topping combinations, and I'll order it."

"Yay!" Adam cheered, raising his hand for Leo and I to high-five individually. I noted that he had a new cast on his broken arm. It was oddly devoid of signatures.

Bree wrinkled her nose. "_Please _don't put barbecue chicken and anchovies together again."

I shrugged. "No promises." I then nudged Adam. "Why hasn't anyone signed your cast?"

Adam's cheeks suddenly turned red with embarrassment. "I didn't want them to." He hesitated. "Do you want to sign this one? Because you never signed my old one."

Oh, right. "Sure."

Bree vanished in a blur only to reappear at my side a second later, knocking Oly off balance and sending her crashing to the floor again as she tried to climb back on the couch. Bree offered me a Sharpie marker with a grin.

I smiled as I took it. "Thank you." Then, with a flourish, I gleefully signed my name.

_Chase "Hellcat" Davenport._

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_"…__I said I love you and I swear I still do. And it must have been so bad, 'cause living with me must have damn near killed you. And this is how you remind me of what I really am…."_

**Nickelback, "How You Remind Me" **

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_"Happy? No, I am not happy…Alduin was once the crown of our father Akatosh's creation. You did what was necessary. Alduin had flown far from the path of right action in…the arrogance of his power. But I cannot celebrate his fall…He was my brother once. This world will never be the same."_

**Paarthurnax, ****_Skyrim_**

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**_Mr. Davenport_**

The blueprints Chase and Douglas had come up with were extraordinary, indeed. He glanced over the top of them at Douglas, who was typing some numbers into the computer. Doing it with one hand slowed him down, but he was still getting the formulas in pretty fast. "How did you even come up with this idea?"

Douglas shrugged, not turning around. "Ghost limbs. I can still feel the hand that's missing like it's still attached. So I figured that my nerves are still sending current along the surface of the skin there." He finally looked at Donald. "It's just a theory, of course."

Donald nodded, looking down at the poorly-drawn schematics. Chase couldn't draw to save his life. It wasn't like drawing a hand was even that hard. If Donald could do it, so could anyone else.

Except Chase, apparently.

It took him a moment to note that the sound of typing had stopped. Donald looked up to see Douglas watching him, a question obviously on his tongue that he was debating whether or not to ask. After a second, Donald sighed. "What, Dougie?"

Douglas narrowed his eyes at his loathed childhood nickname, but didn't acknowledge it. Instead, he spoke slowly, as it weighing each word before he said it. "Has anyone mentioned Krane?"

Donald frowned and crossed his arms, confused. "No. He died, remember?"

Douglas nodded. "I know. I mean…did anyone even miss him? Was there a funeral or anything?"

Donald shook his head, not understanding why Douglas would even ask. "It doesn't really matter, does it? He was a dangerous man. It's a good thing that's he's gone. Why would anyone want to honor him with a funeral?"

Douglas looked like he wanted to say something, but he seemed to think better of it as his entire demeanor gained a melancholic air. "I was just curious."

Donald tilted his head as Douglas returned to his typing. He didn't understand why Douglas would ask any kind of question like that. The death of the wicked was often met with joy and revelry, not funerals and mourning. Krane was just as much Douglas' enemy as he was everyone else's, even if they didn't used to be.

_Oh._

Mr. Davenport suddenly understood. Even though Douglas had turned on him in the end, he and Krane had been brothers-in-arms once, if not friends. Enemies or not, Douglas obviously still felt a bit of grief over the death of his former comrade; even if the comrade had never cared about him. Donald was at a loss for words for a moment before, quietly, he said, "Douglas? I'm sorry."

Douglas sighed and looked at him, his expression unreadable. "It had to be done."

A simple yet harsh truth. Donald nodded, relieved that Douglas at least had the sense to look beyond his emotions to see that.

Silence engulfed them for a few long moments, neither of them moving. They only watched one another, their eyes locked in silent understanding. How many years had it been since they had been able to communicate silently like they were now?

_Too many,_ Donald decided.

Finally, Donald was the one to break the silence with a nagging question. "So, now that this whole thing is over, what are you going to do?"

Douglas shrugged. "Look for a job. Get an apartment maybe." He smiled a bit. "I would get a house, but Hellcat says home ownership isn't for me."

Donald wanted to ask why, but he decided against it. Let them have their inside jokes and secrets. Instead, he nodded. "Any idea where you're going to start looking?"

Douglas resumed his typing. "Maybe some kind of chef or something. That would be a nice change from always inventing things."

Donald nodded again before looking back down at the blueprints. A cyborg hand. If it worked, then it would revolutionize prosthetics forever. It was a multi-million dollar idea, all drawn out by hand.

And not his own.

He looked back at Douglas, an idea suddenly forming in his mind. "Hey, Doug?" Douglas hummed in response without looking up. "What if you just lived here from now on so that we wouldn't have to visit you somewhere else?"

Douglas _did _look up at this. "I don't need your charity, Don –"

"I'm not offering charity," Donald immediately interrupted, holding up a hand. "I'm offering you a _job._" He lifted the blueprints. "If this works, it's likely to become a major branch in Davenport Industries. And I want _you _to spearhead research and development within it."

Dougie's mouth dropped open for a second in stunned surprise. After several moments, he pursed his lips. "Only if I pay rent."

"Room and board are part of your pay," Donald immediately countered. "But _only_ if you cook for us on occasion."

Douglas started laughing at the comment before he grew a bit serious again. "Are you sure, Don?"

Donald nodded. "Don't make me beg."

Douglas smirked. "I kind of want to see the begging."

Donald rolled his eyes before stepping around the cyber desk and walking to his younger brother. "And I want Perry to stop blackmailing me, but that won't happen, either."

Douglas straightened up as Donald stopped in front of him, his hand extended. After a second, Douglas took his hand and nodded. "Thank you."

The simple handshake between business partners devolved almost immediately into a hug that only long-lost brothers – recently reunited – could share.

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_"__A family in harmony will prosper in everything."_

**Chinese Proverb**

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***Sobs* That's it, guys. The ****_Hybrid_**** series is over.**

**But, again, Hellcat lives on. :3 **

**I've already got a couple of one-shots up my sleeve. I just have to write them. :D**

**Besides, maybe another major plot will come to life, and another chapter story or two will be born. Who knows?**

**At this point, I would like to thank everyone who has ever read this series, whether or not you liked it. All the supporters, the fans, and the reviewers are the reason Hellcat lives today!**

**_These stories are dedicated to ya'll!_**

**If you'll excuse my Texan. xD It's a language all its own.**

**So, everybody, this will be the last time I say this on this series. **

**Feel free to review. Or don't. I don't mind. :3**

**And, as always, enjoy.**

***Bows and exits***


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